I'll Be Home For Christmas
by Tiny Timb
Summary: It's 10 years after the strike and everyone has moved on with their lives. Crutchy comes down with a severe case of pneumonia that threatens his life, bringing everyone back together for the holidays. Will it mean more family, or more foes?
1. Prologue

**_Someone once said, "You can't go home again." Another said, "There's no going back to the start." Well, that was all well and good, but they must've not had many friends where they started. And they must not have had many friends write to them about another mutual friend's failing health. _**

_**In other words, she was only going back because they had guilted her into it. She had better things to do than go back to New York City. And she certainly had better things to do than go back to New York City during Christmas. **_

_**Christmas, she thought with a shudder, in New York. With all of the gang back together, or so she heard. A big, noisy turnout where everything that could go wrong would go wrong and then some. **_

_**Not that she minded chaos, you see, for that was what she lived for. It was just the fact that she was going back to what she had been all too eager to leave nearly eight years before. And she was doing it willingly. **_

_**She could have said no, she realized. She could have made up an excuse, which would have been all too easy for her to do, and nobody would have thought anything else about it. They could have gone on with their Christmas-ing and she could have gone on with her everyday life in Maine. She was even saving up money to go back to Europe and stay with family. Now she spent it all again on a trip back to New York because her conscience got the best of her as it always did. **_

**_Then again, she cared a great deal about Marty. Stupid gimp, she thought even as a smile touched her lips, stupid, sweet, loveable gimp. She knew that it could quite possibly be the last time any of them saw him, because he was admitted to the hospital after coming down with a severe case of pneumonia. Perhaps that's why everyone was in such a hurry to get back, and in such a hurry to rush _her _back as well. _**

_**Well, if all that was true, she thought as she stood outside the old lodging house, then I'll make the best of it. Then after the gimp gets well I can go back to Maine and do whatever I want and not have to deal with them again.**_

_**Not that she didn't love all her friends; she'd do anything for them. But that chapter of her life was over. They had moved on, so why couldn't she? **_

_**Shaking her head and adjusting the ratty burlap sack over her should, Andrianne "Timber" DeMarco stepped inside the lodging house again. Immediately her nose picked up familiar scents, her eyes softened at the familiar sights of little (and not so little) boys and girls running around, and all doubt of her coming back faded away. **_

_**She was home. **_


	2. Why Men Shouldn't Decorate

!! "…Unfortunately, Mrs. Polski, I have to tell you that his condition could get worse…." The doctor explained But Hannah Polski wouldn't hear bad news. Not about her Marty.

She shook her head. "No. He'll be just fine. After all…Christmas is only a few days away…it's his favorite time of year. He wouldn't miss it for the world." Hannah stated, to assure herself as much as the doctor. But as she looked into the window of her husband's hospital room, she had her doubts. He looked so weak...

To get her mind off the situation for a moment, she thought about the letters she sent out more than a week before. "I hope they all got them…I hope they all come." With a silent prayer, Hannah walked back into her husband's hospital room to stay with him for the night. !!

!! Sarah "Echo" Skinin considered herself to be a very reasonable person. She made sure that she was acceptable looking in public, with her curly light brown hair always neat and her clothes always pressed. She always was very flexible when it came to time or dates. She always gave everyone an extra hour to arrive. Not that she didn't yell at them afterward for being late…but that was a different matter entirely. And she never fought or argued with anyone…well, hardly ever, anyway.

So where the hell was everyone?!

"They should have been here an hour ago." Sarah muttered to herself, tapping her fingers on the windowsill she sat on. Her hazel eyes scanned the street outside. "WE never take this long…"

"We probably got the letter before everyone else…I mean we don't live that far away, now, do we?" Michael pointed out from his station as he helped put up decorations. The entire gang was coming back and the house wasn't even close to being done. He wanted it to look good, not that he let anyone else know that he cared about a silly little thing like that. Michael "Skittery" Skinin had a reputation to uphold. "Not to mention you'd never LET us be late for anything. Not even fashionably late."

Sarah barely spared her fiancée a glance. She merely looked back out the window. Her breath started to fog up the glass which began to entertain her for the time being. When the rest of the group got there, she'd give them all an earful…

"That strand's crooked." Michael remarked to his friend, Gabriel "Spot Conlon, who was currently up on a ladder putting up Christmas lights.

"What do you mean, 'That stand's crooked'? It looks straight to me." Gabe spat, frustrated at the fact that he actually had to do something this Christmas gathering.

"I mean that the stand's crooked. Look at it from down here, it's sagging in the middle if you keep it there…"Michael stated, his arms crossed. Gabe growled.

"I can't very well look at it from down there if I'm up here on the damn ladder, now can I? And it's not crooked."

"Whatever you say, Conlon." Michael muttered, going back to the garland. He'd learned over the years of being friends with Gabe that it was just easier for everyone to let him win. "It's still crooked." He mumbled under his breath.

Sarah jumped up. "We have an arrival! Someone's here!" And before anyone could say anything else, she sped out of the room and towards the front door, which she wrenched open to see a very surprised woman with curly light brown hair and blue eyes with her fist raised to knock.

"Oh, we don't knock around here, just come on in." Sarah exclaimed, literally grabbing the woman by her arm and dragging her inside.

"Well sheesh…" said the woman, nearly stumbling onto the floor. "I didn't expect that for a welcome, let me tell you…"

"You'll get used to it. I'm Sarah Skinin, by the way. I used to be called 'Echo' once upon a time, back when we were all newsies and whatnot. Who're you?" Sarah asked, barely taking a breath.

"No way, Echo?" The woman said, a grin flashing over her face. "THE Echo? This is so amazing. I'm Emilie!" When Sarah looked at her blankly, she added, "Spotlight…?"

Sarah gasped with recognition. "No way!" With a whoop she hugged the girl and grabbed her hands to dance a little circle. "This is wonderful! I remember when we'd get our papers together at the distribution office! God, those were the days, huh? Morris took over for 'Mr. Weasel'."

"Really?" Emilie gasped. "Those poor children."

"I know." The two women shook their heads in pity for the poor newsies that would have to deal with Morris Delancey.

Michael peeked his head around the corner. "Hey, sorry to break up this beautifully heart-wrenching reunion, but could one or both of you come help in here? Spot won't listen to reason."

"Sure…" Walking back into the next room, the two women cocked their head's to one side. "That strand's crooked." Emilie said finally.

"See?" Michael demanded with a smug smirk. "I'm not the only one."

Gabe gave a snarl. "IT IS NOT! Why don't you three go throw some tinsel around and leave my lights alone…?" He mumbled bad-naturedly.

The three on the ground simply shook their heads "It's no use trying to talk to that boy. He's still got the hardest head in all of New York." Emilie said with a sigh as they complied with Gabe's wishes. "Although it's kind of good to see him fret over a little detail like that; it means he cares. We are doing it for Marty, anyway."

"Have you seen him lately?" Michael asked. "We only saw him once since we've gotten here, and he wasn't looking so good..."

Emilie shrugged. "He's Marty. He looks really sick, but as usual his hopes are up." She shook her head. "He's always been the optimistic one of the group, hasn't he? Always the sweetest…" Emilie bit her lip. She wouldn't go into what she was thinking of next, but it wasn't very Christmas-y.

Sarah threw an arm around Emilie and rubbed her shoulder. "Don't worry, you. Marty won't pull a Tiny Tim. He'll be here just as long as the rest of us.

"So I heard you were married to a Mr. David Jacobs." Sarah said, determined on changing the subject. Emilie blushed lightly and nodded.

'We've been married for a few years now. We have three beautiful children. We have Danielle, my oldest at 5, Euell, he's 4 (needless to say they fight a lot…), and my baby Gideon who's 2. We also have another one on the way."

"No kidding." Michael muttered, and then grunted when he recieved an elbow in the ribs from Sarah. "I didn't mean anything by it...

"Got a name for the kid yet?" He asked, clearing his throat and averting his eyes for a smooth subject change.

Emilie winced. "Um…well…no."

"Well is it a boy or girl?"

Emilie grinned. "Mmm-hmm."

Sarah gave Michael a light smack on the arm. "It's not like she'd know right now. God."

"Well why wouldn't she? It's her kid, isn't it? God…" Michael muttered, sulking a little as he walked back into the other room. Sarah merely shook her head. "He can be such a baby."

Sarah's remark didn't fool Emilie. She saw the look of love in Sarah's eyes. With a smile, Emilie shook her head and headed into the kitchen.

What she didn't expect to see next, however, was chaos. Flour seemed to be everywhere. Smoke rose from the oven and mixing bowls overflowed with something unrecognizable.

"What the hell happened in here?" Emilie said, speaking what came to both of their minds.

A petite woman of about 25 years looked up quickly from the floor, where she was helping sweep up flour. Her caramel-colored hair was partly in her face and in her vivid blue eyes. Her eyes were wide like a doe's caught in a beam of light.

After a moment of staring at each other, the woman seemed to have gained her courage and began to apologize.

"I'm so sorry for the mess. I suppose I was trying to help make something for the dinner tonight, and well…I caught myself daydreaming. I suppose you can see what happened next…" She said, her voice quiet. "I knew Cassandra shouldn't have left me in charge…" she muttered.

Sarah and Emilie looked at each other, and couldn't help themselves as they began to laugh. The woman looked very confused at their uproar, which brought that doe-look into her face again.

Emilie spoke first. "Don't worry honey; we're not laughing at you. It's just so….awkward." she managed. "Here, we'll help you get this mess out of the way." Together the three women cleaned up the kitchen and finally got the meal underway.

"Thank you so much. I don't know what I would have done if it weren't for you two… I honestly don't understand kitchens." The woman said.

"It's no problem, really. Oh," Sarah thrust out her hand, "Sarah Skinin. This is Emilie Jacobs. We didn't get a chance to properly meet before Cassandra shuffled you into the kitchen."

The woman stared at the hand for a moment before shyly taking it and shaking it lightly, then did the same when Emilie offered hers. "I'm Cosette Bellamont. I was called Mouse a while ago. I'm here with Gabriel…er…'Spot' Conlon."

"Ah, the king of Brooklyn. I've gotta find something to do to him…."Emile muttered.

"Why?" Sarah asked, knowing about her friend's ability to take revenge by pranking a person to death. "What'd he do?"

"He didn't want my advice. It offended me. Gonna finally tie that boy down?" Emilie asked Cosette to change the subject. Cosette smiled shyly, averting her eyes.

"I'm working on it." !!

!! In the other room, Gabriel Conlon remained oblivious to the plans that were being made about him. He had a job to do. And his lights were NOT crooked.

"Stupid…what do they know? Nothing about lights, that's for sure…" he muttered to himself, fixing another strand onto the wall.

'You want to know what you're missing?" David Jacobs asked, looking up from his job at arranging the mistletoe. He had only arrived not too long after the event in the kitchen.

"Not really, but I'm sure you'll tell us anyway." Michael muttered, tacking the garland around the doorframe. He'd considered David one of the guys since the end of the strike, so, naturally, David had to have an extra dosing of his sarcasm.

David, being used to those kinds of remarks, simply ignored it as he took an ornament out of his son Gideon's mouth. "You forgot about a tree. You can't very well put ornaments on a windowsill, can you?"

Gabe glared over at Michael accusingly. "You forgot the tree?!"

Michael returned the look. "We had agreed that YOU would be the one to go get it since YOU'RE the hardest one to please! How could you forget something as important and as big as a CHRISTMAS TREE!?"

As the two men fought over the tree, David shook his head and looked out the window with a secret smile. It was just like old times. !!

!! I shouldn't do this right now, Andrianne thought as she looked through the window into Marty's hospital room.

She felt guilty about going in because he was actually getting to spend time with his wife before he slept again. Also, Andrianne admitted to herself, she knew she probably wouldn't be able to hold up much longer if she went in just now. Seeing her lively friend riddled with sickness made her eyes well up.

But just as she turned to go, Marty looked up and his old bright smile lit up his pale face. He gestured wildly for Andrianne to enter, and being a sucker for the guy, she complied.

"Timber? Though you probably go by Andrianne or Andy or something like that nowadays. Ah, geez, it's great to see you, anyway. I'm real glad you came. Hannah was just telling me that she sent out letters to everyone to get 'em back here for Christmas." Marty rambled, barely taking a breath. "She said that everyone replied and were coming. Is it true? Is everyone back?"

Andrianne couldn't help but grin at him. Sickness or not, Marty would always be the same. She walked over to him and gave him a light hug and a kiss on the forehead and hugged Hannah. "I go by pretty much anything these days, and it's great to see you, too. And as far as I know," she said taking a seat next to his bed, "Everyone's coming. I didn't really stick around the lodging house to see who was there before I came here."

Marty looked extremely pleased to hear that little fact. He began to say so when a fit of coughs wracked his body. Covering his mouth with a handkerchief, he waited until they subsided to continue what he was saying. "So, how have you been? What have you been up to? Are you a famous writer yet? Are you still putting firecrackers everywhere?"

Andrianne merely shook her head and tried to hold a normal conversation with him. God, he looked so sick. Damn it to Hell, why him? "I've pretty much put away my fascination for firecrackers, at least for the time being. It seems Maine doesn't take too lightly to them. "She grinned. How could she tell him what a drifter she was? She'd almost been across the entire state of Maine because she hadn't found a place to call home yet. Not to mention the little mess she made of her life in Chicago…but she wouldn't get into that. "I've been into this and that. But never mind me, what have YOU been up to? Other than worrying people to death."

Marty, finding the humor in what she said, merely shrugged. "Nothing much really, just lying around with a beautiful woman." He winked at Hannah. "Good news though! The doctor says that I could be able to go home in time for Christmas. Isn't that great?"

"That's awesome, Marty!" Andrianne said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Unlike Hannah and Marty, she tended to be a pessimist. Catching Hannah's eye, they shared the same thought. Marty could be going home before Christmas alright…

If home involved the big, pearly gates of St. Peter and a coffin. !!

!!And that's the end of chapter one! The next chapter I think will be featuring Shoegoil and Styx and perhaps a few others. I hope you liked it and if I messed up your character you're free to tell me so!! (Reviews please! I'll give you an imaginary cookie! and sorry about the extra exclaimation points...it was being stupid)


	3. Is He Still Living?

!! "Do we really have to do this again? I mean didn't you just see these people last week?"

"Now, now, darling, that was purely by coincidence. I had no idea that Emilie would be at the market with her children."

"You told me yourself that you had asked her to come."

"Oh, did I? Never mind then. Besides, I didn't see everyone last week! Some of these people I haven't seen for years."

Alex Parks set the tree down and looked back at his wife, their children jumping on the chance to play in the snow. "Name five."

'That's easy! I haven't seen…well…hmm." Cassandra pulled at her bottom lip trying to think. "Oh! I haven't seen Sarah and Michael since two years ago. So there's two…and I haven't seen Jenn and Dom for a while…" She shook her head. "I know I'm missing someone…"

Alex shook his head and picked up the tree, blowing a lock of dark hair from his equally dark eyes. Cassandra glared lightly at his back.

"Okay so I can't name five. That merely proves that I have a selective memory." She adjusted the baby, Tommy, on her hip as he babbled away. Cassandra stepped in front of the small parade to hold the door of the lodging house open for her husband as he lugged the tree inside.

David, noticing the sudden green mass coming through the door, got up to help and give Alex a break. It was a huge tree, after all. Alex nodded to David in thanks, and together they set the tree upright in the provided space.

"They brought a tree, so you two can quit fighting about it now..." David said over the growing din, but of course, Michael and Gabe didn't hear him or didn't care and continued to bicker.

"He wouldn't have had to if this nimrod here had gotten it like he was supposed to!" Michael argued. Gabe, who was now off the ladder and in Michael's face, growled dangerously.

"I'd watch who you called nimrod if I were you. I can still beat your ass."

"Boys, boys!" Ever the peacemaker, Cassandra stepped in between them. "Is this really necessary? I mean the tree's here, so why fight over it anymore? And stop calling each other names. You're worse than my children and they're all 20 years younger than you or more." She pointed out.

With a glance at Cassandra (and another glare at one another), the two went back to what they were doing, muttering under their breaths. Cassandra merely nodded and set down Tommy to toddle around. "I think I'll go see what I can do in the kitchen. I'm pretty sure Cosette won't mind the company. Eden, watch your brother, please." She said and went into the small kitchen.

Great, Alex thought, I'm out here alone with them. He didn't really mind the newsies. In fact they could be a lot of fun and really nice people if he let them be. But that was the problem; he didn't want them to be so nice. If they weren't, then maybe his wife wouldn't spend so much time with them. Alex shook his head. He wasn't the jealous type. Or maybe he was. He didn't know and didn't care. All he knew was that he was getting tired of his wife spending all her time with old friends that she'd known since forever.

Perfect, Alex sat and rubbed his temples, annoyed with himself. He was being illogical and acting jealous. But he was allowed to be jealous sometimes. After all, he had an angel for a wife. And he wouldn't let anyone forget it. "I need a life." He mumbled, and then decided to get up and help out for once. It was Christmas after all, and it was for Marty. He'd always liked Marty. He was a rare guy. Genuine, and Alex didn't meet a whole lot of genuine people in the music industry. Also, he might be able to sneak out to see what was going on at the music club he ran. Shrugging, he lifted his four-year-old daughter, Susan, so she could put an ornament on the tree. !!

!! Jenn "Styx" de Moya stepped onto the platform at the train station and looked around. And smiled. "This place has changed.' She noted, brushing brown hair from her eyes behind her ear. "Not much, but enough. It seems even busier."

"Of course it is." Dom, once known as Bumlets, said, carrying two suitcases as he came up behind her. "They heard we were coming." Grinning at each other, they hopped onto a trolley headed towards the lodging house.

"How much do you think everyone else has changed?" Jenn asked, laying her head comfortably on her husband's shoulder. "As much as us?"

Dom shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe nothing's changed at all. Except, you know, everyone's old." He smiled when Jenn laughed. "Seriously, though. I'll bet that nothing has changed in the slightest. Jack'll still have his red bandana and cowboy hat somewhere if it's not on him, Spot and his girl will probably be all over each other, to give you a nasty image."

With a laugh, Jenn joined in. "Shoe will be hosting parties and cooking up a storm. Though I suppose she goes by Cassandra or Cassie nowadays. And that'll annoy the hell out of Alex like it always does. Oh, and you have to spin on a ceiling fan, just to seal the deal."

"That was purely a spur-of-the-moment thing. Never again."

"Why, because you got dizzy and made yourself sick afterwards?"

"That too."

He helped her down from the trolley and grabbed the suitcases after arguing with her over who would take them. Dom nudged her inside with one of the suitcases and shut the door behind them.

"I toldja so." He said after they took a moment to survey the scene in front of them. Jenn swatted him away.

"Oh, go put those somewhere if you're too stubborn to let me help, then come back so we can say hi to everyone." She followed the noise and ended up in the living room. With a shake of her head, she grinned. Children ran everywhere and unlucky husbands and significant-others were stuck on decorating duty.

No doubt about it, Jenn thought, this place would always be home-sweet-home. !!

!! Gabe looked down, sensing he was being watched. What he saw was a little girl, about ten years old with a baby in her arms, staring back up at him. She was almost the perfect combination of Cassandra and Alex. Oh, what was her name? Emma? Emily? Edna?

"What's the matter?" He asked, revoking the idea of saying a name and getting it wrong.

She shrugged. "That strand's crooked."

"What strand? No it's not." Gabe argued.

Eden nodded and set down her brother so he could play with Susan and Charlie, the seven year old. "It is too. It hangs down too much on the side."

"It does not! You're cross-eyed or something." Gabe retorted, tired of people messing with him over the lights.

"That may be, but at least I'm not old like you." Eden pointed out, her arms crossed and her mouth set mutinously, and looked older than her ten years. Finding the conversation boring, she walked off to help her father and David with decorations.

Gabe stood on his ladder, his mouth hung open after the girl. "Why that little…she called me old!" Highly insulted, he walked into the kitchen for a drink and to blow off steam. "I am NOT old." He grumbled.

All conversation in the kitchen stopped once the door swung open and Gabe stepped inside. He was still muttering to himself unintelligibly as he walked to the icebox, a grim set to his mouth.

"Uh-oh." Emilie muttered. "I remember that look."

"That's his sulky, 'I-can't-believe-they-just-said-that-yet-they-might-be-right' look." Cassandra said with some amusement. "It has to be one of my favorite expressions of his."

"I wonder what put it on his face THIS time…"Emilie pondered aloud.

'More than likely someone poked fun at his outfit or something like that." Sarah grinned as the others chuckled. "No, I've got it. He's still insisting that his lights aren't crooked." She said, making them laugh harder.

"I'm in the room, you know." Gabe said bad-naturedly as he took a drink from his glass.

"We know. Why else would we be making fun of you so much?" Emilie asked, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Cosette, glancing up from her current artwork, decided to put it aside and hurriedly began to sketch his expression before it disappeared. "What happened?" she asked, only looking up enough to study her subject.

Gabe frowned even more. "I'm NOT old." He grumbled.

The four women stared at him for a moment before laughing uproariously. Gabe looked startled for a moment, but only a moment before his signature glare was directed at them. "What's so funny?" he demanded.

"That's what this was about?" Emilie asked, wiping tears from her eyes. "You getting old?"

"I'm not old!" He insisted.

"Of course you're not." Cassandra agreed, clearing her throat and trying hard not to continue laughing. "Might we ask who told you this?"

"Well…a kid…"Gabe scratched his head, then deciding that the explanation wasn't enough, he insisted. "Other people did, too!"

"You let a KID get you down?" Sarah asked, raising a brow at him. "Could it be that the great Gabriel 'Spot' Conlon is feeling insecure as he ages?"

"Oh, what's the use talking to you?" Gabe stormed out of the kitchen, leaving the kitchen door swinging. The women stared after him, turning their eyes onto Sarah.

Sarah squirmed slightly at the sight of three sets of eyes on her. "Oops." She muttered. !!

!! "Wow."

"My sentiments exactly."

"Wow."

"You can stop saying it now."

"Once more. Wow."

"Yes, we get the idea. It's been a while." Cindie Whitaker said with a roll off her eyes. She tugged on her fiancée's arm. "Can we go in now?"

"No, please. Let's stare at the building a little longer." Jack said from behind Cindie and Jake. "It's much more interesting than actually going _inside._" He smirked at his own fiancée, Arielle. She grinned at him.

"You guys just don't get it." Jake said with a sigh. "We haven't been here for years. I mean, this was our first home, and this is the first time we'll have stepped foot inside it since we stopped being newsies."

"Wow, you're right." Jack pulled away from Arielle for the moment and stepped up beside Jake to look at the building in awe. He looked at Jake. 'You're getting old." Jack laughed as Jake looked at him surprised. "Let's go."

"You can be so mean sometimes, Sullivan." Jake grumbled as they stepped inside the lodging house. "Just so mean."

"You think too much, Jake. I mean, yeah it was our first home. Yeah, it has sentimental value or something like that." Jack turned as he took off his coat in the entrance and helped Arielle with hers. "But it was too cold outside to stand and remonice."

"It wasn't that cold. I thought it was really nice." Arielle said to him, picking up the coats from the banister and hanging them on the coat rack, which was an unconscious habit of hers. Jack merely shook his head.

"You'd stay outside all day if I let you."

"Darling, I stay outside all day even if you don't." She patted his cheek and walked past. Jack sighed and shook his head at the other couple and followed Arielle into the sitting area.

Cindie blinked after them. "What did she mean by that?" she asked Jake. "I mean, if he won't let her stay outside, then how can she when he doesn't?"

Jake shook his head with a smile. "Nothing, Cind. It's an inside joke I suppose. Let's just follow them."

Cindie merely shrugged as she did so, still pondering over how someone could go outside if they couldn't. Jake shook his head again. I love this woman, he thought, but sometimes I just want to pat her on the head. !!

!! "…And not only that, she lets me keep a few of the dresses I help her make. I have a beautiful emerald green dress that I brought for the New Years dance."

"Facinating." Andrianne remarked dryly. "Wait, there's going to be a dance?"

Chloe Cormac nodded at her. "At least I think so. Hannah made some mention of it in her letter." She looked Andrianne over. "You know, if you want, I think you could actually fit into one of my dresses-"

"No."

"No?"

"Absolutely not." Andrianne shook her head vigorously as they entered the lodging house. "Thanks anyway, but I don't do dresses."

Chloe merely shrugged. "Alright, but if you change your mind all you have to do is say so." With a smile, Chloe walked into the kitchen to find Cassandra, who had recently hosted them for an evening.

Andrianne stood in the sitting room for a moment. And then she shuddered. As a tomboy, she couldn't stand dresses. Not that Chloe's offer hadn't been appreciated, but she had to follow her religion, which had a strict "No Dress" rule.

Looking over at the doorway, she grinned when she saw Trey "Kid Blink" Marshall walk through with both suitcases. To cause trouble as usual, she sauntered over and leaned on his shoulder to add extra weight. He grunted.

"Hey there, Mr. Packhorse!" She grinned at him. "How's it hanging?"

"Hi, Timb. You can get off now." Trey nudged her off and put the suitcases down. "Long time, no see. What's it been, eight years?"

"Something like that." She murmured. "I met your lovely fiancée. An absolute doll, that one. I'm glad you actually found someone worthwhile."

"That hurts, Timb. But I'm glad you approve…I think." Trey shrugged. "Did she end up telling you about her dress?"

"Not only that but she was hinting at the fact that I could use one."

"She's a saleswoman, what can I say?" He smiled once more at her and walked off to find Chloe.

Andrianne shook her head. She'd never be able to understand couples. But as she turned to walk upstairs, she got the shock of her life.

He was still standing at the desk, like he'd been born there. Every memory she had of him was at that desk and filling out that ledger, or looking for one under all those papers, as he was now. In awe, she stepped forward, and he looked up, raising a brow at her from behind those glasses of his. She could only find one thing to say to him…

"Are you still living?!?" She asked, baffled.

Kloppman merely shook his head at her. "You never did have anything polite to say. Though I may be old-…"

"REAL old." Andrianne remarked.

"Though I may be old," he continued like she hadn't interrupted, "I can still drag you through the hallways and up the stairs by your ear well enough."

Remembering what that felt like, Andrianne rubbed her ear. "I still think that it should have been classified as abuse."

"That may be, but to the rest of us, it was just damn funny." Kloppman smiled now. "You still look like you'd be ready to pull a lit firecracker out."

"If I had one I'd do so." She smiled back and walked around the desk to hug the old man; something she rarely ever did. But he received it and pulled her back.

"You didn't say goodbye. Not to me, not to anyone." He said. "And that hurt. I could've died, you know."

Andrianne winced and nodded. "I know. I thought about it a lot, but I guess it wasn't ever enough to bring me back. I'm sorry."

"Well now. There's two firsts. A hug, and now an apology. Timber DeMarco, I think you've grown up."

"Don't get used to it, or else I'll go out and buy some firecrackers." With a final smile, she walked upstairs.

She put only one side of her hair behind her ear, Kloppman noted, but it didn't fool him. He saw the faint scars across the left side of her face. He saw the one trailing from her eyebrow to her nose. And he cursed whoever did it.

Now where did he put those ledgers!!

!!...And that's the end of part two! Please review!


	4. Merry Christmas, Huh?

!!Before anything else, I owe Caps and Charmer and Annabelle Leroux to my buddy Chipper! Chipper, I FRIGGING LOVE YOU! And thanks to anyone who has reviewed thus far.!!

!! This was perfect. It was great. Absolutely smashing.

What the hell was she doing?

Sure, sure, it was for Marty. But now that she looked at it, did she really _need _to go back to New York? She had been doing perfectly fine in the UK now that Gov. Elks was gone.

Smirking to herself, Rachel "Chipper" Jones looked back on that little event. Hell yeah, that was fun. Especially the look on his face when she, Charmer, and Caps showed up that fateful day. That was worth it in itself.

What was she thinking about again? Oh, New York. Marty…right, right. Anyway, what was the point of going back? Although she'd been meaning to for some time…but that was beside the point. There'd be people there.

Well, no duh, Ray, she thought to herself. It was a reunion. There was gonna be people there. But they'd all be married, or close enough to it. And they'd all have kids. Lots and lots of kids, knowing them. Fertile bunch of rabbits…

But she'd get to see everyone again, so maybe she'd stick around. There was bound to be someone there to joke around with, just like old times. Just like she'd never left. Just as if times hadn't changed…and as if they were still newsies, living in that old lodging house again…

Christ, she was upsetting herself. Glancing over her shoulder, Ray looked on as her friends, Brendon "Caps" Lackmay and Michael "Charmer" Reilly teased each other and wrestled over a cap. She smiled. She didn't know what she would have done if it hadn't been for them. She'd always have them, that she knew.

Then again, it'd be kind of nice to have a girl around to talk to. Ray was a huge tomboy, but good lord; she couldn't stand all the talk about what girl was prettiest, which she had dealt with patiently (and at times, not so patiently) for ten years. And even though Mike's wife, Annabelle Leroux, was a doll, Annabelle wasn't exactly someone that Chipper could confide in.

She missed the lodging house. She missed the chaos. She missed firecrackers everywhere. She missed pranks every five minutes. She missed the chases.

She missed Timber.

How was she these days? Ray thought. Did she go by her real name now? Was she still in Chicago, or had she moved to Maine like she said she would?

They used to send letters to each other as often as possible, and then all of a sudden Timber stopped sending them back. Ray hoped she was alright. Would she be coming? Hopefully…she couldn't stand another dull moment, and with that shorty around, it was NEVER a dull moment.

"New York next! Fifteen minutes, prepare your belongings and prepare to head off!" Called a crew member.

"Finally!" Ray let out a whoop and grabbed her bag. "LAND!" She looked over at the two still-wrestling men. "'Ey, boys!" She whistled, and when they didn't pay her any mind, she tried again. "BOYS!"

"Perhaps you should do something drastic to get their attention?" Annabelle suggested. Ray glanced at her with a small smile and shrugged. 'I was trying to be nice. BOYS!!" Nothing. Narrowing her eyes, Ray set down her bag and rolled up her sleeves. And knocked their heads together.

"OW!" They protested, rubbing their heads. Brendon was first to recover. "What the hell was that for?!"

"It's because you don't pay attention to me... and Annabelle gave me the idea." Ray stuck her tongue out at them. "Now grab your shit, we're about to get off!"

"Yes mother." They said in unison and went to put their things together.

Boys, she thought shaking her head with some amusement. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. !!

!! Hannah sat on the windowsill of Marty's hospital room, holding her elbows and staring outside. The first night seemed to have gone well enough. That's what she'd been led to believe at least. She had absolutely no idea who had come or how many had come. She didn't even know if everyone had gotten her letters. Damn the postal system.

Glancing over at her husband, Hannah allowed a small smile to cross her face. He looked peaceful as he slept now. Perhaps he really was getting better. And it was Christmas Eve. Soon he could go home. For that, she sent up her thanks.

As she walked to her husband's side, Hannah had the opportunity to glance in the small mirror on the wall. And she desperately wished she hadn't. Her usually bright auburn hair was a mess in the temporary ponytail she had it in. Her eyes had dark circles under them from lack of sleep, and the normally charming dimples in her cheeks had grown into frown-lines from worry. Hannah was no where near vain enough to only concentrate on her appearance, but she hated the fact that the war she fought inside was beginning to show on the outside.

"I am strong enough." She muttered to her reflection. "I will be strong enough for Marty. Oh, God…please let me be strong enough."

Her head whipped around at the sound of Marty coughing. Going to his side, she helped him sit up and handed him his handkerchief. Hannah rubbed his back, muttering soothing words, hoping to help ease his pain.

Perhaps it was fate that she looked down at the handkerchief and the small red spots, but her heart nearly stopped either way. He coughed again, and a bigger spot stained the cloth.

"It hurts…"Marty rasped, leaning back against her.

"I know, darling, I know..."She held onto him for a moment, then laid him back against the pillows. "I'll go see if we can't do something about that…I'll be right back." She kissed his brow and walked briskly out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Once outside, Hannah leaned against the shut door and gave into her tears. Oh God, she thought. He's coughing up blood. Blood…She shook her head. "What do I do?" She wondered helplessly, before wiping her eyes and reported the incident to a passing nurse.

"One second, ma'am." The nurse told her. Then, once having talked to her superior, the nurse turned back to Hannah with a grim expression.

"What? What is it?" Hannah demanded.

"They're going to check him out now, Mrs. Polski…" The nurse began. "We're not exactly sure if there's anything we can do…"

"_What?_ No, there must be something. I won't stand for that!"

"We'll do everything we can, ma'am, but we're not sure Marty will-…"

"No. I don't want to hear it!" Hannah covered her ears and fled back to her husband's room. She could only stand outside the glass and watch as they examined him.

As the tears ran down her cheeks, she shook her head. "Please…not him. Not my Marty. God, help us." !!

!! "This has got to be the best thing I've seen in years."

"I've seen better."

"I doubt it was this funny. I wish I was a photographer. Hell, let's look up Denton, maybe this'll end up in the Sun."

"Sorry ladies, Cosette's the closest we have to a photographer." Alex said to the three women beside him, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and surveying the scene before him with mild amusement.

"Why am I doing this again?" Gabe asked, clearly frustrated at the ordeal.

"Because you love me. Now hold still or you'll mess it up." Cosette replied with an uncharacteristic tone as she reviewed her subjects with an artist's eye. "Michael, move a little to the left, please. Perfect." She smiled serenely and began to sketch furiously.

"I understand why you're making HIM do it," Michael grumbled. "It's fun to make a fool out of him. But why did you HAVE to include the rest of us?"

"Pure sadistic pleasure, really." Cosette murmured.

"It's getting REALLY drafty around here…"Jack complained. "How long with this take?"

"Hopefully forever." Emilie muttered and grinned, making the already hysterical females laugh harder.

"This is getting really uncomfortable. And this tablecloth is itchy." Jake put in, wishing he could move.

"I'm feeling a breeze…and for some reason it's quite refreshing." Trey muttered, glancing around for the source.

"I hope nobody farts. We'd get the full brunt of it, because there's no clothing in the way." Dom cringed. "I'd prefer that nobody did, being that I'm in the back."

"This has got to be the worst thing that you've ever talked me into, Em." David muttered, shifting his weight slightly.

"I could think of worse things. Hold still or she'll throw something at you." Emilie retorted. "Think of this as an early Christmas present for all of us."

"How come you're not in the portrait?" Sarah asked Alex. "We're making the rest of them do it."

"NOTHING could make me do that. Nothing." Alex declared with a smug expression.

Cassandra smirked at him. "I'm willing to bet that if I threatened to make you sleep on the couch for a few days, you'd do it." She patted his chest. "Good thing for you that I only found out about this a few minutes ago." Alex merely mumbled his agreement.

"Where'd you find all those tablecloths, Andy?" Chloe wanted to know.

"Kloppman has a big linen closet upstairs that he used to put a lock on." Andy shrugged. "I guess he wanted to do all the changing himself. We needed to know where all the extra bed sheets were. You know, in case we had…" She glanced around and cleared her throat. "Guests." She finished with suspiciously innocent smile.

Arielle and Cindie had to lean on each other to keep from falling over laughing at the scene in front of them when they finally emerged from the sitting room. All of the men of the household, excluding Kloppman and Alex, were in angel-like poses with holly branches and berries in their grasps. They were nothing, save for the make-shift togas wrapped around their bodies and vital parts.

"I can safely say that I like you guys, but I don't like you THIS much." Jack muttered, obviously uncomfortable about the whole thing

"My sentiments exactly." Michael stated. "You're almost done, right? Please say you are."

"If I did I'd be lying to you." Cosette murmured. "Relax. It'll be over before you know it."

"That what they all say." Jake sighed. "Couldn't I just go keep the kids company? They must be pretty lonely upstairs by themselves…"

"Nice try, buster. You're staying down here with the rest of us." Gabe growled.

Jenn tisked at them all. "What's wrong with all of you? You should feel privileged to be in Cosette's portrait." She shook her head at them and looked over Cosette's shoulder to look at her progress. 'Some people can't appreciate art."

"Speaking of art, where'd these paintings come from?" Andy wondered, examining a few very well done pieces of artwork in the hallway. "I've never seen them before."

"That's because I got them from a friend a few years ago. You wouldn't know about them." Kloppman told her, shaking his head at the scene in the room and walked back behind his desk.

Andrianne winced at his hidden meaning but left the matter alone. She continued to examine the paintings in front of her. Beautiful, she thought. Simple, yet so powerful. A woman alone in a chair, silhouetted by candlelight crowded her vision. Loneliness? The next was simply a painting with two hands and a red background. A male and a female hand, to be precise, reaching for the other. What did that mean? She thought as she looked at the artist's signature.

"Orlov?" She asked him. "Who do you know named Orlov?"

"Just a friend." He muttered preoccupied. "I swear those kids are even weirder than they were when they lived here. I hope it doesn't give the new kids any ideas…" he said mostly to himself.

Andrianne shook her head. She wouldn't get answers from him right now. Those paintings weren't sketches. They had taken time, and heart. She'd kill for some talent like that. Even in her writing she couldn't seem to portray the human emotion that emanated from the paintings.

Oh well, she thought. Such were things that you had to get over.

She didn't have much time to think about it, however, when the front door opened and a huge black mass came barreling at her and knocked her over.

"OUCH! Max, you big beast! Get off me!" She exclaimed, with no real force to her words as the dog slathered her with kisses.

"I couldn't hold him there anymore." The man in front of her stated, his hands shoved in his pockets. "He was howling so much we had to bring him here."

Andrianne looked up at her longtime friend, Aidan "Copper" Connelly. He was still a handsome devil. Even more so now that he was older, with his light brown hair and his deep green eyes. And he still wore that damned penny on a chain around his neck. "That's fine, Aidan, thanks for watching him. Sorry I couldn't pick him up last night after I saw Marty."

"That's fine. Listen, I've got to go catch a train. I'm meeting the in-laws today." Aidan made a disgusted face, then hauled her up and hugged her. "It was good to see you. I hope you stick around longer this time." And with that and a smile, Aidan left her to deal with the dog on her own.

"Well, you great brute, I expect you to be on your best behavior for the next couple of weeks. Got it?" Andrianne said, raising a brow at the mutt. In response, Max barreled through the sitting room.

"Damnit! I SAID BEST BEHAVIOR!!" She growled chasing after him. Crashes and curses resounded everywhere.

"WHO BROUGHT THE DOG? IF IT EVEN IS A DOG!!!" Alex yelled over the growing din, finally nabbing the canine.

Andrianne sheepishly stepped forward. "Sorry…he's not very good with manners." She glared down at the dog, who seemed oblivious to the fact that he may be in trouble. "I'll put him upstairs." And it took all of her strength to do just that, because the dog, hearing her tone, simply plopped his butt down and refused to budge, forcing Andrianne to push him across the floor.

As soon as she prepared to close the door, Max began to howl pitifully. She dropped to her knees beside him. "Stop that!" She put her forehead to the dog's and looked him in the eye. "Look, soon we'll get out of here and you can run around all you want when we go back to Maine. PLEASE just shut up for now?" When Max persisted, she rolled her eyes. "I'll bring you a cookie later." She promised. That seemed to get Max's attention for the time being, because he shut up not too long afterward. Andrianne nodded. "Good boy. I'll see you later." She closed the door behind her and sunk to the floor, blowing strands of hair out of her eyes.

That dog was the reason she would never have kids. He was a big baby himself. Shaking her head once more, Andrianne got to her feet and walked back down the stairs. !!

!! Ray looked up at the building with a wary expression. If all the commotion she'd just heard from the inside was any indicator, the lodging house might not be so safe. Then again it was always like that when she lived there. Shrugging, she opened the door, peeked around it cautiously, and then entered fully.

"Wow." She muttered looking around. "This place brings back a LOT of memories. Those idiots should have come straight here."

Mike, Annabelle, and Brendon had elected to come later, after they'd settled in their hotel rooms. Although if Mike's crude jokes held any truth, Annabelle and Mike would be doing a lot more than _settling in. _But that was none of her business.

Couples, she thought, never failed to amuse her.

And speaking of couples, she thought further, I'd be a real happy chick if I didn't see Jack Kelly my first day back. This would be an awkward situation, because of the fact that they not only used to go out, but he was now engaged to the love of his life. Or so she heard anyway.

But it seemed the fates were against her today, because who should walk out into the hallway but none-other than the very person she didn't want to see right away, in…a _toga?!?_

Hoping to sneak away unseen, Ray headed for the stairs, but Jack had great peripheral vision, and his head snapped up at the sudden movement.

For a moment, they could do nothing but stare at each other. Then finally, he asked, "Ray?"

"Hi, Jack." She offered a nervous smile. She gestured to his current garment. "Getting in touch with out feminine side, are we?"

Jack glanced down, and Ray could have sworn she saw him flush a little. "Gabe's new girl had us posing for…never mind." He shook his head. "Where have you been? No, strike that, I know where you were. I assume everything went well because, well, you're standing here, so…" he sighed. "It's good to see you."

Ray smiled brighter now. "It's good to see you too, Cowboy. Speaking of that, did you move to Santa Fe?"

Jack winced at the subject. "Not exactly. I haven't really been able to convince Arielle to. She wants to move up north to Canada, of all places. She's really stubborn."

"So are you." Ray said with a smirk and a raised brow. Jack mocked her.

"You know, Ray…I'd really like for you to meet her. Arielle, that is." Jack said cautiously. "I think you'd like her."

Ray chewed on her bottom lip a little, before giving him a hesitant smile. "I'd like that. I'm sure we'll get along really well. And we can gossip about you behind your back all the time." She grinned evilly.

"Oh, joy to the wor-…"Jack suddenly cut off, glancing around. 'Whew that was close…"

"What was?"

"Well, any time someone makes a comment that has to do with a Christmas carol, or is the title of one... someone breaks out into song. Gets kind of annoying actually."

"Oh, you mean if I was to say joy to the world, someone would start singing it?" Ray asked sweetly. Almost immediately, an off-key chorus of "Joy to the World" echoed throughout the lodging house.

Jack narrowed his eyes at her. "I hate you."

"Now that's not very Christmas-y." Ray mock-pouted. She then grinned and began to go through into the sitting room while Jack scowled after her.

She stopped short. Ray could recognize that girl anywhere, but the problem was that she had grown a little since Ray had seen her last. She seemed harder; tougher than she should have been. Her voice was lower, which was a tell-tale sign that she was now a woman. But Ray knew those grey eyes, even if they seemed darker. She was different, that was for sure. Where was the shouting? The firecrackers? Shaking herself out of her reverie, Ray put on a grin and confronted the woman in front of her, who's back was to her.

'You're still the shortest bitch in the neighborhood." The woman stiffened.

"You wanna run that by me again?"

"I said, you're still the shortest bitch in the neighborhood." Ray's grin widened as Andrianne turned around to face her, then squealed and practically knocked her over with the force of her embrace.

"You cocky S.O.B.! I could've cracked your jaw for that!"

"You wouldn't have been able to reach." Ray grinned and looked down at Andrianne. "How ya been, kid?"

"Kid?" Andrianne snorted at that. She hadn't felt like a kid for years. "I'm living, so that's all that counts, right? How about you, Miss I'm-Gonna-Leave-For-The-UK-But-Not-Tell-Anyone?"

Ray grimaced. "I've been good. And I'm sorry about that…but I did write to you. And I KEPT writing to you, unlike _someone _who all of a sudden stops." She eyed Andrianne meaningfully.

"I had good reason. I'll tell you later." Andrianne shrugged. "God, it's good to see you. I thought I was going to be the only weird one here."

"Weird? Who're YOU callin' weird?"

"Look who's got BLUE hair. I'm sane compared to you."

Ray snorted. "Since when? Did they finally convince you to leave the firecrackers alone?"

"I'm thinking about bringing them back for old time's sake."

"Hey…" Ray pushed aside part of Andrianne's hair, and examined the scars on her face. "What happened here?" she murmured, concern evident in her eyes.

"Like I said," Andrianne gently pulled Ray's hand away from her face. "I'll tell you later. You know, we'll go gossip or something." She shrugged. "Hell, I'll even play a drinking game with you. 'The worst relationship ever' game."

Ray allowed a small smile to creep along her face. "Maybe. Listen, I'm gonna go say hi to everyone else before they feel deprived. I'll talk to you later." She smiled brighter and turned to go. "Oh and Andy…" Her smile softened. "It's good to see you, too."

"Stop getting mushy and go before you make me blubber." Andrianne started to mock-sob and grinned as Ray did as she was told with a mock-bow.

This day just got better. !!

!! Alex rubbed his temples. If someone sang bloody "Joy to the World" again, he'd go crazy. Of course, it was Christmas, so he'd said nothing each time and had merely walked into the other room to avoid getting the song stuck in his head, which of course happened anyway.

As another chorus of "Deck the Halls" began, he stood up. That's it, he thought. If they want music, I'll give them some music.

He walked up to the front desk and leaned against it. "Mr. Kloppman?" He asked, looking over the side at the man who was currently searching through the bottom drawers.

Kloppman looked up, his eyes owlish through his glasses. "Huh? What is it?"

"Nothing major. I just wanted to know if you had a piano in the house…?

"Piano? No, no piano here. This ain't a lounge, son." Kloppman said, returning to his search. "Sorry."

"Sure. Thanks." Alex muttered and looked around. Well…he could…

No, that would be ridiculous. Where would he put it anyway? There wasn't any REAL need for it, other than the fact that his fingers itched to play. He looked down when someone pulled at his pant leg.

"Susan?" He knelt down. "What's the matter, baby? You're supposed to be in bed."

'You didn't play today, daddy." Susan pouted. "You always play."

"Well…there's no piano here, honey. I couldn't possibly…"But being a sucker for his children, especially his little girls, he sighed. And stood. "We'll see what we can do about that, alright?' Alex picked her up and took her into the sitting room to her mother. "Someone couldn't sleep." He announced as the group looked up.

"Susan? Here, honey, come sit with mommy." Cassandra took her daughter and sat her on her lap.

Alex examined the room. "Is there any way we can move the tree over?"

"I guess, why?" David asked

"Well…I'll tell you later. Let's just move this."

Alex and David picked up the tree, being careful of the decorations, and moved it over.

Gabe blinked after them. "Was that a spur of artistic inspiration, or…" which Cosette giggled at. Alex ignored the comment and surveyed the area.

"Great. Now is there any way I can get a few of you to help me out with something?' Alex asked, looking into the faces of the ex-newsies. The men all looked at each other, surprised that Alex even asked for their help.

"Sure.' Jack said with a shrug, now fully clothed (much to his relief). "What do you need us for?'

"Come on, I'll tell you on the way."

As the men walked out the door, the womenfolk could only stare after them.

"Wonder what's gotten into him…"Cassandra muttered.

She had only an hour to wait before the answer to her question was being muscled through the front door. "What on Earth?!?" she exclaimed.

"Watch out, guys." Michael called. "I know we're making it look easy, but this thing is heavy as hell."

"What's our piano doing here?" Cassandra asked, her eyes wide.

"You guys wanted music, so I'm gonna give you music." Alex stated simply as the men sat the piano down gently.

'You mean you carried that thing all the way from your home to here?" Sarah asked baffled.

"Yup." Gabe nonchalantly flexed his muscles. "We wanted a good workout…"

"You're so conceited." Trey remarked rolling his eyes.

"I would've thought that you would've been used to it by now." Gabe said with a grin as they sat back down.

Alex tested a few keys to make sure they were still in tune. Finding everything up to par, he improvised a bluesy version of "Jingle Bells", stopping only to lift his daughter onto his lap.

"Hey everybody! We're finally-…whoa where'd the piano come from?" Mike asked, as he and Annabelle finally found time to come.

Brendon walked in not long after them. "Was that you I heard playing?" he asked Alex. "I could hear that sucker from two miles down. It wasn't bad mind you; people were actually dancing in the street."

"Alex brought the piano from home." Cassandra said with obvious love in her eyes. "Which I think was a wonderful idea. " Was her husband finally warming up to the newsies? What was it about Christmas season that made people do things differently?

"Yeah, cool. Hey, can you play something more upbeat? You know, that we can wiggle to?" Mike asked.

"I don't know about wiggle music, but let's try this." Alex began improvising a very upbeat and fast song.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Mike exclaimed, grabbing Annabelle to him and improvising dance moves, and looking very goofy.

"Well…if you can't beat 'em…join 'em." Jake muttered and pulled Cindie up, dancing with her.

"Oh, guys, come on. That's just ridiculous…oh, to hell with it." Trey exclaimed. "C'mere honey!" He grabbed up Chloe and boogied.

Brendon went over to Eden, who had been eyeing the brown-eyed, light brown haired man since he'd walked in, and bowed to her. "May I have this dance?" The girl's eyes lit up even as a blush covered her cheeks and she took his outstretched hand to dance with him.

It began to be such a funny scene that Andrianne, who was walking in with her nose buried in a book, looked up and walked right back out, shaking her head.

Suddenly the door opened, and almost everything stopped abruptly.

Hannah walked in, tears streaming down her face, with as much strength and as serene as she could muster. She walked into the sitting room and cleared her throat into the silence.

"Hannah…?"Emilie asked, stepping towards her. She stopped only when Hannah held up a hand to tell her to keep her distance.

Hannah licked her bottom lip. "I-…they…" She had to clear her throat again. Her eyes were dark and grim. "Marty is dying."

The silence was deafening compared to the roar in her ears. "The doctors don't think he'll make it through the night." She continued. And she gave a small bitter laugh even as her voice cracked with despair.

"Merry Christmas, huh?" !!

!!Good? bad? let me know how you feel when you review!!


	5. Miracles and Reunions

!! The air seemed stuffy to Hannah. Everything seemed so surreal. She didn't notice people walking by. She didn't acknowledge anyone when they spoke to her. Hannah simply stared straight ahead, lost in her own world thinking, _My Marty is dying._

Hannah could barely feel any embraces, nor could she even open her mouth to speak. Everything was moving slowly. So, so slowly.

_This is a nightmare. It has to be. Soon I'll wake up, and Marty will be right beside me. He'll be able to laugh without coughing. He'll be able to move without wincing. My Marty will be just fine. This is just a bad, _bad, _nightmare._

The atmosphere was so tense around his hospital room, Marty thought. They all thought he was asleep, so they didn't say anything to him yet. But that was fine with him for the moment. He could look around at everyone to judge what was going on. Whatever it was, it was bad. Real bad. And it had something to do with him. Marty had a hunch that he knew what it was, and it made his heart tighten in his chest. _Please don't let me go tonight. It's Christmas…this could ruin it for everybody. _

He couldn't suppress it any longer. Marty let the coughing fit come, which startled everyone in the room. Hannah was shaken out of her reverie and immediately moved to his side to help him sit up.

The feeling of hopelessness and helplessness was shared throughout the room in every heart. What could you do for a man that was dying? What could you say? How could you let a friend go so soon in their life?

When the fit finally subsided again, Marty tried to clear his throat. He glanced around the room, taking in all the expressions and trying to read the body language to see how he could deal with the situation. Finally he decided to be blunt and get it over with.

"I'm dying, aren't I?" He asked quietly. Many a head snapped up at this blunt remark that was so unlike Marty, but they said nothing to confirm or deny his question. Marty nodded. "Thought so."

Then, to change subject, he glanced around the room again, letting his old bright smile grow along his tired features. "Well there's a few people I thought I'd never see again." He gestured to Ray, Mike, and Brendon. "Ran off to the UK, never to be seen again." He teased.

"Well, things were getting pretty boring over there anyway," Ray smiled softly.

"We were making as much trouble as we could over there, when we heard about you worrying everyone back here." Mike shrugged. "I couldn't have you upstaging me." He winked. Ray and Mike looked expectantly at Brendon for his response.

Brendon looked at them all and shrugged. "I have no excuse." He lowered his head in mock-shame. "I am ashamed." He got a chuckle out of a few people.

Hannah allowed Marty to lean back against her as she began to stare off again. Nobody could tell exactly what she was thinking that day, but they knew what it involved. Hannah placed a kiss on Marty's forehead as she stroked some of his hair off of his brow.

A knock on the hospital room door caused everyone to jump again. Marty's doctor entered. "I'm sorry to disturb you folks, but I'm sure Marty needs his rest. You can wait in the waiting room."

"Marty just got up from resting." Hannah argued. "He needs to see his friends."

"That may be, Mrs. Polski, but he is in a very fragile state." The doctor tried to reason. "I think that-…"

"Personally right now I don't care what you think." Hannah said quietly.

"Doc., I'm doing okay…" Marty explained. "I know what's going on, and as a patient…I think I'd much rather see my friends as opposed to sleeping the rest of my life away."

The doctor seemed to consider this, but then he shook his head once more. "Marty, you need your rest. It may postpone the inevitable."

"Yeah, that's the way to spread holiday cheer." Jack said lowly.

The doctor barely spared him a glance. "Perhaps some of you don't fully grasp the situation. I suppose it's my duty to explain it to you in detail..."

"Alright, that's it." Trey stated, getting to his feet. "Listen, you piece of-…"

"Trey? Darling?" Chloe took his hand. "Why don't you sit down and let us handle it a little more gently?" As Trey did as he was told (with another glare at the doctor), Chloe turned her emerald green eyes onto the doctor, who suddenly felt as if he were staring into green ice.

"Listen you pompous asshole." Chloe started, surprising the entire room. "I don't think _you_ fully grasp the situation. We understand perfectly,and if Marty is indeed dying, then he should have a few requests granted, and if one of those requests happens to be that his friends are with him in his final hours, then that's how it's going to be. Got it?"

"This is gently?" Trey murmured, and Michael could only shrug and look on, suprised.

"As his doctor I strongly recommend that he get as much rest as possible." The doctor said, with a snobbish air.

'It seems to me that he'll get all the rest he wants if he dies." Emilie snapped. 'So your recommendation is irrelevant."

The doctor looked around hopelessly. "You honestly can't all think this!"

"Yes we can." Cosette said quietly. "We're not going anywhere."

"We want to make Marty as comfortable as possible, and he requires a lot of rest in his state. You can most certainly visit him again when he wakes up, but until then I'm going to have to ask all of you to wait in the waiting room."

"And if he goes while we're 'waiting'? What then?" Cassandra asked, with an uncharacteristic amount of venom in her voice.

"Wouldn't you just feel guilty?" Sarah snarled.

"We can't always predict what will happen…"The doctor began.

"Which is why we won't be leaving, and you will." Andrianne got up.

"You can make sure he's comfortable now. No problem with that." Jenn crossed her arms, brown eyes defiant. "But we're not going anywhere." She slowly stepped towards him.

The doctor backed up slowly. "Now listen here-…"

"No, you listen. Let the matter go, Doc." Ray stated simply. "You're dealing with a group of people who are known to have VERY bad tempers."

"Right now we're just annoyed." Cindie stated. "Imagine what would happen if you really pissed us off."

"Look," Andrianne said, putting a companionable arm around the doctor's shoulders. "We'll call you if anything happens. 'Till then, why don't you go handle your other patients, or go drink some coffee, or go do a nurse…whatever you doctors do in your spare time."

"Our people will call your people. We'll do lunch. We'll be pals." Arielle opened the door and slammed it behind him as Andrianne pushed him out.

When the womenfolk (save Annabelle, who was back at the lodging house watching the children) turned back around, the men all stared at them, slack-jawed and wide-eyed.

"And that, gentlemen," Emilie stated, dusting her hands off, "Is why you don't piss off a woman. Pregnant or otherwise."

The men blew out a simultaneous breath. "I'll believe it." Michael stated.

"Wow…" Marty still stared at them, wide-eyed. "Wow."

"Is that all you can say?" Hannah asked.

"It's all I can think of right now. Wow." He said again. They laughed.

"Thanks for standing up for me." Marty said after a moment. "He would've never listened to me." He shrugged. "I'm just not scary."

"You're a nice guy, Marty." Jake said softly. "You don't have to been scary."

"Yeah, I mean, Brendon's face makes up for your lack of scariness." Mike commented easily.

"Yeah sure- hey!" Brendon protested. Mike shrugged.

Marty chuckled a little, trying to suppress his next coughing fit. Hannah, sensing the tension, rubbed his back.

"Go ahead and let it out, love." Hannah said softly to him. "It only makes it hurt worse when you hold it in."

Marty glanced at her and shook his head, already coughing. "It was coming whether I wanted it to or not." He managed. "I love you." He said for only her to hear.

Hannah rested her forehead against his. "I love _you._" She responded.

The sound of over a dozen hearts breaking was nearly audible.

!! Many of the people in the room didn't believe in a higher power, but for people like Hannah, it was the only thing they could turn to.

Even if they didn't think it, their hearts simultaneously sent up a prayer like Hannah's.

Her eyes brimmed as she sat by her husband's side while he rested again. Placing a kiss on her husband's brow, she thought, _Dear God…I know I've asked a lot of you lately. You've brought many things that I could never have dreamed of, and I'm grateful. But I ask one more thing of you. Please don't take my Marty. His time on this Earth is not finished. He's far too young…and far too full of life. He brings love and light wherever he goes, and he could never ask anything like this of you. But I, being a selfish woman, can. Please answer my prayer. I'll gladly make whatever sacrifice you desire. _

_Amen._

Hannah was brought back from her thoughts and prayers, however, when Marty began to cough violently. Offering all the comfort she could, she helped him ride it out, when she first began to notice something as the clock in the room began to toll midnight.

There was no blood on his cloth now. Only phlegm, which was hardly a beautiful sight. But the splotches of phlegm were rather large.

"Are you alright?" She asked, baffled by this change. The clock tolled again.

The coughs subsided, and Marty cleared his throat. "Yeah…yeah I guess so." Hannah's eyes were brought next to the fresh sheen of sweat on his brow. She lifted her hand to his forehead. Then, confused, to his cheek. Another toll from the clock.

"You're fever's breaking." She gasped.

"What the hell…" Michael muttered standing up and turning on the lamp.

'His color's coming back…" Hannah chewed her lip. Could it be…?

Another toll.

"Well, quick, get the doctor! Let's confirm this!" David ordered.

"I'll do it!" Andrianne said rushing out.

Toll.

Soon after the doctor came in. The air was tense in the hospital room. Hannah gripped the hand that held hers as she awaited a verdict. Could it be…? She thought again.

Toll.

"I don't get it…" The doctor muttered, standing up.

Toll.

"What? What is it?" Hannah asked anxiously.

Toll.

"Well…it appears that something must have happened." The doctor scratched his head. "Marty, I don't understand it. You're not wheezing, you're not coughing, and you've got no fever." He shook his head.

Toll.

"You mean…" Marty's eyes were wide.

Toll.

"Marty Polski, the pneumonia seems to have vacated the premises. I can't find a damn thing wrong with you."

Toll.

The doctor smiled at him. "You're going to live, Marty."

The room erupted in cheers as Hannah threw herself into Marty's arms, joyful tears streaming down her face as the clock tolled once more.

"It's a miracle!" Hannah blubbered. She looked to the heavens and smiled.

_Thank you. _

!! In the next day or so that followed, Marty was allowed to be sent home. Marty, of course, completely skipped this step and went straight to the lodging house, where there was a homecoming celebration for him. He nearly went to tears himself.

Christmas day was spent in and out of Marty's old hospital room, grabbing his belongings and high-tailing it out of there. Nobody could have asked for a nicer Christmas present than having Marty alive and well, so they celebrated hard that night, but with very little of the unexpected (unless, of course, you count an impromptu performance by the oh-so-tipsy Ray and Andrianne that included a rather off-key version of "My Lovey-Dovey Baby" unexpected).

And, of course, the womenfolk were feeling the aftermath the next morning.

"Who's idea was it to go take a walk?" Sarah nearly growled.

"Mine." Emilie said brightly. "Serves you all right, drinking so much…"

The other non-pregnant females mocked her. "You would have done it, too, if it weren't for that kid in your gut." Ray muttered. "You know you would have."

"That's beside the point. I didn't, and that's all that matters."

'Did you have to bring your dog with you?" Jenn asked Andrianne, staring down at the black canine. Andrianne merely shrugged.

'He heard the word 'walk'. I can't go on one if he doesn't come, or he'll drive the neighborhood crazy." She responded. Andrianne was used to the next-day ritual, having done it many times before, so in the end she wasn't really cranky.

"Are you sure he's a dog? I mean…"Arielle patted his head and Max licked her hand in return. "He's a gorgeous animal none-the-less."

Suddenly, Max was off like a shot, tearing through the crowd and pummeling people over. Arielle stared wide-eyed after him. "What'd I do?!"

Andrianne groaned. "He smells something." She took off after him. "Go ahead to Tibby's, I'll meet you there!" She shouted over her shoulder. "MAX!!"

The dog tore a path between innocent bystanders, leaving her to take the blame.

"'Scuse me, pardon me, sorry ma'am. Sir, excuse me. MAX!" Andrianne shouted. "You crazy flea-bitten mongrel!"

Max tore around the corner, sensing a game of chase, and it was only when she heard a shout and a crash that she found how bad the situation was. She ran around the corner and collided right into a broad chest, knocking the man over as well as falling on her own butt.

"OW! Son of a…" Andrianne bit off a few curses. "Why don't you watch where you're going?!" She snarled at the man on the ground. He was first to recover.

"I'm terribly sorry, but you were the one tearing around the corner." The man stated as-a-matter-of-factly. Andrianne heard him get up and dust himself off.

Nearly growling, Andrianne ignored the hand in front of her and got up on her own, about ready to bite the guy's head off. "Now listen you-…" She had to step back to keep from craning her neck to look at him. Where had she seen that face before?

"Look, I am sorry that you may have hurt yourself, but I refuse to apologize for the incident that I had no control over…" The man's hazel eyes squinted slightly. "…Timber?" he asked cautiously.

Andrianne stuck out her jaw. "Maybe, who wants to know?" Then it hit her. _No way._

"Wow…You don't remember me do, you?" He asked, blowing a stand of deep brown hair out of his hazel eyes. He smiled tentatively down at her. "I'm Losko. We met a long time ago. Almost ten years ago, in fact. We walked to the train station together."

Remember him? Hell, she'd been in love with him for nearly ten years, but Andrianne didn't voice that. It was probably a good idea to take a cool approach to this. She plastered a smile on her face. "Losko! Right, now I remember you! How've you been?"

"Well enough, I suppose." Actually, he'd been having a rather off-day. There was beginning to be a lot of pressure on him now that he was a man to follow in his father's footsteps in the political world. And his father, even though Losko loved the man, was beginning to make him uncomfortable with all the talk of carrying on the family name through marriage and children. Oh, Losko had no problem with kids or the thought of marriage. In fact, he was fond of the idea himself, just not as eager as his father was. Honestly, you'd think that the man would be squeamish about his age with the thought of becoming a father-in-law and a grandfather, but no. Not his father.

And the girls he'd been throwing at him lately. Losko liked to see the brighter side of things, and thought there was always some good in everybody…but those women (if you could call them that) were spoiled brats, to say the least. Close-minded and prissy, and Losko wanted nothing to do with people like that, thank you very much. They tended not to be able to see the beauty of nature, only dirt. They tended not to think twice about a fresh morning breeze, and more about their hair and appearance. People never failed to amaze him.

"Earth to Losko…"

Responding to the sharp tap on his forehead, Losko came back to the world of the living. He smiled sheepishly at Andrianne, who cocked a brow at him.

"You okay? You trailed off on me…" She asked.

"Sorry…it's a habit of mine I suppose." He rubbed the back of his neck in a slightly nervous movement. "I never asked you how you've been. What have you been up to?"

Andrianne thought about the life she'd led over the past ten years. And decided that there was really nothing worth mentioning. "This and that. I'm back to going by Andrianne or Andy… Nothing spectacular." She shrugged at his skeptical look. 'Nothing worth mentioning, let's put it that way." She amended.

Losko wasn't pleased with that answer, because he knew there was always something new to see everyday, and a lot could happen in ten years. He was also smart enough to know that her answer was pretty much all that he'd get out of her, so he let it go. For the moment. "Oh, I completely forgot…" He looked around quickly. "Was that your, uh, _animal, _that ran past here?"

Andrianne winced visibly. "I hate to admit it, but yeah. That big mongrel is my dog."

Before she could even utter the word "dog", Max came trotting up nonchalantly, and plopped his butt down in-between them.

"Speak of the devil, there he is." Andrianne murmured. "And just where did you run off to, you great mass?" She asked, her arms crossed. Appearing to know he was being scolded, Max turned his head away to pout.

Losko, unable to resist an animal, knelt beside him and began to scratch Max's ears. "So this is the big black thing I saw before I fell. What a gorgeous animal. You sure he's a dog?"

"Well, actually, we think he's a mix between a dog and a wooly mammoth." Andrianne smirked. No one had ever considered her dog anything but a black ball of trouble, and nobody had ever called him gorgeous. Her smile softened, however, when Losko's deep laugh rumbled through the bustle of the crowd. She thought she'd never hear that laugh again.

He was such a beautiful creature to look at, Andrianne mused, barely noting that Losko had gotten to his feet.And she wasn't talking about the dog. No doubt he was probably already engaged or married, although there was no ring on his finger. But that didn't mean anything. She had known men to take off their wedding rings so they wouldn't lose them on the street. Why wouldn't he already be taken? He was so handsome, and he was really a nice guy, from what she remembered.

"Andy?" He asked. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Andrianne shook herself. Great, she'd been caught staring at his mouth, too. She wondered belatedly what it would be like to kiss him. Was he a bad kisser? A guy like this had to have some kind of flaw… Whoa there, girl, she thought. You gave up on thoughts like that a while ago. Right?

'Sorry…I'm spacey today." Andrianne apologized. "What'd you say?"

Losko couldn't hide his smile. What was she thinking about? "I asked where you had been heading before your dog ran off?"

"Oh. I was going back to Tibby's with a few old friends before Max decided to go crazy. We were gonna have lunch with their significant others…" Andrianne forgot about that little fact. She and Ray would be the only two singles there, which meant that they would be forced to witness various levels of snogging. Couples, she thought with a slight shudder.

"Hey, maybe you'd like to come…? There's always room for one more." She invited without thinking. _Crap, this could get really awkward. Good job, brainless. _

"Actually, I've got to go meet up with someone…" Losko started, then thought about it. "But maybe later we could…I don't know, go for a walk or something."

Andrianne looked him over. Did he seriously just say that? To her? "Sure…that'd be great." Did she seriously just agree?!?

Losko's face lit up. "Great! Uh…where are you staying? I'll come by."

"I'm actually staying at the old lodging house just down the road." Andrianne responded. "So, if you wanna meet somewhere else-…"

"I love that old lodging house." Losko interrupted. "I'll see you there around five, alright?" He grinned down at her, and, being a gentleman, he kissed her hand. "I'll see you tonight." And with that, he hopped a trolley and rode it out of sight.

Andrianne could do nothing but stare after him. 'What a strange guy…" She mumbled. "I shouldn't have told him I would…" So why then was she feeling so giddy?

She glanced down at Max. Even _he _seemed to be grinning at her knowingly. "Oh shut up and let's go." Andrianne muttered bad-naturedly and stalked off towards Tibby's. !!

!! "Are you serious?"

"Dead serious."

"Dead serious like you're actually going to do it, or dead serious like you're thinking about doing it?"

"The first one."

Michael whistled as he looked over Dom's shoulder at the ring. "That's a pretty big step for you, Conlon." He glanced over at Gabe. "You sure you're ready for it?"

Gabe glanced over his shoulder at Cosette, who sat at another table for the time being, doodling. 'I honestly don't have a clue what the hell I'm doing." He looked back at the other guys. "All I know is that I'm really serious about her. I really do think I'm in love with her."

'Gabe, no offense, but you said last week that you were in love with your turkey sandwich, and you saw how long THAT lasted." Mike smarted, getting the group to laugh.

Gabe snatched the ring back and put it in his pocket, grumbling. "I swear to God, fellahs." He said finally. "This one is real. I don't know what it is…" He glanced over at her again and smiled, acting quite unlike himself.

"Christ," Jack shook his head. "This guy's a goner."

"Good luck, I guess." Trey said with a grin and lifted his glass in a mock-toast. "When are you gonna pop the question?"

Gabe blew out a breath. "I've got no idea."

"Just don't be yourself when you do it." Jack warned. "No threatening like this; 'You better marry me!'"

"I won't, God. I'm not a complete idiot." Gabe grumbled.

"Says who?" Mike teased, then clapped Gabe on the back and walked back with him and the other guys.

"We wondered when you'd be joining us again." Sarah teased. "We didn't know whether or not to send a search party, or if you were just plotting our demise over there."

"I guess you'll never know will you?" Michael said, sliding in beside her.

Making sure all other parties were out of ear-shot, Ray leaned over to Andrianne and whispered, "Conlon's gonna propose to his girlfriend."

"How'd YOU know?" Mike asked, eyeing her.

"I found out the easiest way. I eavesdropped." Ray popped an ice cube into her mouth and grinned at him.

"I wish they would hurry up. Some of us are hungry." Trey muttered, leaning back.

"Well, there are a lot of us in here, Trey. I'm sure they'll get it to you eventually…" Andrianne leaned over the back of her booth to ruffle his hair. "They're punishing you for that stunt that you, Aaron, and Anthony pulled a while ago."

"Who were they?" Chloe asked.

"They were called Mush and Racetrack. Both happily married now, I think. I saw Aaron in Chicago, and Anthony…I don't remember where he is, but they were supposed to send letters to Marty saying how sorry they were that they couldn't get here."

Trey flushed visibly. "Oops."

"They DID write, didn't they?" Andrianne shook her head at him. "You forgetful thing, you." Trey rolled his eyes and got out the letters and took them to Marty.

"What did they do to make them get punished?" Chloe asked. "It wasn't bad was it?"

"Not really. I think they had a particularly good day selling or something like that, and they decided to come back here to see who could eat the most. Turns out that they all have really big appetites. They got kicked out." Ray put in, also leaning over the back of the booth. She and Andrianne shook their heads. "Amateurs." They said in unison, turning back around.

What they turned back around to, though, made them both groan. "God, get a room!" Ray complained. "No public displays of affection, remember?"

Jack looked up from kissing Arielle's neck and rolled his eyes at them. "Like you've ever paid attention to it before."

"That's not the point. I don't wanna be staring at it." Andrianne protested.

"You'll get over it." Jack said, and waved them off, getting back to business.

Andrianne sighed. "Ever get the feeling that they don't listen to you?" She asked. Ray simply nodded, then glanced over to her side as her glass started to move across the table. Grabbing it, she scanned to table for the culprit and came upon Brendon, who was unconsciously drumming on the table.

Ray grinned and shook her head, wiggling in her seat to the beat. Andrianne crossed her eyes, trying to ignore it. "Brendon? Are you aware that you're the cause of a mini-earthquake?"

Brendon stopped beating for the moment and looked at her. "Huh?" He glanced at his hands and flushed a little. "Sorry." He put his hands in his lap and glanced around. "Couples," He muttered.

"Normally it would do my heart good to see so many people into each other, but for crying out loud, it's too much too soon!" Ray mock-sobbed.

"This is the stuff nightmares are made of." Andrianne rubbed her temples.

"You're just jealous." Jenn commented in a sing-song voice.

The three single people looked at each other. "You know what, you're right." Brendon got up and let the two girls out.

"Now if you'll excuse us,:" Andrianne snatched a fry off of Michael's plate as soon as his food came, with only a mild protest from him ("Hey!"), "We're going to go do whatever we feel like doing, all the time. "

Once outside, Ray inhaled the afternoon air. "Good ol' New York." She mumbled. "So, Andy, how about we go have that drink you were talking about?"

Andrianne casually glanced away. "Actually…I kinda have something to do tonight…"

Ray glanced at Brendon and grinned. "Something? Or someone?" she asked. Andrianne whipped around to look at her and made Ray laugh.

"Well was I wrong in assuming you have a date or something?" Ray asked.

"Well…no…It's not a date. I'm just going on a walk with him."

"A walk, huh? Then what's the deal? Go ahead. We'll have gossip-time when you get back." Ray nodded. Andrianne shrugged.

"Whatever floats your boat. I've gotta go make sure he wasn't early. He had a weird look in his eye today." Waving, she walked ahead of them, leaving Ray and Brendon alone.

Brendon glanced at her. "What's wrong?" Ray shrugged.

"It's just it feels so weird now. Everyone's not just themselves anymore." Ray said. "For instance, it's not just Jack or Air anymore…it's Jack AND Arielle. And it's not Echo and Skittery anymore...it's Sarah and Michael. See what I mean?" She asked. Then she shook her head. "Maybe I'm just being stupid."

"No, you're not. I understand. Everyone's changed. Every_thing_'s changed." Brendon put a companionable arm around her shoulders. "It's a lot to take in after being gone for so long."

Ray murmured her agreement. "It seems like the dance is just to show it all off, too. And I refuse to wear a dress to it."

"Then don't. I'm willing to bet you won't be the only one not wearing a dress." Brendon smiled down at her. "I won't be."

"I would hope not." Ray laughed. Her smile softened as she looked up at him. "Thanks, Brendon."

"No problem." Brendon chewed his lip. "You know, " he said casually, "If you're worried about showing up with someone, you could always go with me. I'm fairly attractive. Although, I don't dance. I've got two left feet, but my good looks make up for that." Ray laughed and shook her head.

"Although you sound really tempting, I'm afraid I'll have to pass." She shrugged. "I'll probably go solo for this little thing. Thanks for the offer, though."

"Oh.' Brendon shrugged it off and glanced over at the vendors and familiar sights to hide the disappointment in his eyes. He realized that he was only half-joking when he had asked her. "Just don't let Medda talk you into performing. I heard she's always looking for new acts."

"Don't worry, I won't. I swear." Ray smiled at him and walked inside the lodging house.

Brendon lingered outside for a moment to clear his head. No matter how long it took, no matter how much it hurt, he'd probably be fool (or in love) enough to pursue Ray to the ends of the earth. Rubbing the heel of his hand across his heart, he walked inside the building. !!

And That's it for this chapter! Let me know how you feel about it and the story. No joke, I'm always up for constructive criticsm. SEND ME SOME LOVE!


	6. Happiness, if Only For a Moment

!! It wasn't hard to figure out why she loved him. She could still picture the day she realized it. It had been raining. No, it had been _storming_. Fierce winds, buckets of rain, and he'd decided to go on a last-minute errand.

He was worrying her to death.

He'd gone out over two hours earlier, and she hadn't heard a peep from him since.

_When he gets back, boy is he going to get an earful. I'll wring his neck, _she had thought. And she had jumped at the knock on the door.

"Oh, God, this is it." She had said aloud. "Something's happened." But when she answered the door, the only thing she found was her man, soaked to the bone and muddy. With an equally soaked and muddy puppy wriggling in his arms.

Sheepishly he had grinned at her.

"Can I keep him?" He'd asked, with an apologetic smile.

And he had won her heart.

But at the moment, Arielle VanderNeut was trying hard to remember why she loved the man. He was the most stubborn thing she'd ever met!

"I don't see why we just can't try it out. I mean if we're completely miserable, we can always move back!" She tried to reason, but Jack wouldn't hear any of it.

"Why would we waste money on moving to-and-fro when we can simply move to Santa Fe? There's always something to do there, which means that you couldn't possibly get bored or be miserable enough to come back to New York." Jack said, confident in his logic.

Arielle rolled her eyes. "How do you know that there's always something to do, hmm? Have you BEEN to Santa Fe?"

"No, because _someone _won't let me!" Jack nearly snarled.

"Oh for the love of-…What is in Santa Fe that you want to see so much, huh?" Arielle demanded. "What could possibly be there that's anything better than what we've seen here?"

"If you're going to go around like that, then fine. What's so important in bloody CANADA?! It's COLD up there. We get enough of that here!"

"It's HOT in Santa Fe! What makes you think that we don't get enough of _that _here?!"

"I'm though arguing with you, Arielle."

"Same goes, Sullivan."

'I wouldn't go in there, if I were you." David advised as Marty made his way towards the kitchen.

"Why not?" Marty asked, puzzled.

"Because there's a war going on in there." Emilie stated simply. "They've been at it for a little over an hour, and this is the first sign of them letting up."

As soon as she had uttered the words, however, Jack exited the kitchen in a huff and went outside, while Arielle, who exited a few moments later, walked upstairs.

Ray and Brendon merely glanced at each other, before proclaiming at the same time, "This is why I'm single!" When silence followed the declaration, the two went about their business, exiting the room swiftly.

"I don't get it. If they're so worried about going to somewhere too cold or too hot, why don't they just stay in New York?" Gabe grumbled. "They pretty much said that themselves, anyway. And it would prevent us from having to hear about it every five seconds."

"You act like you've never had an argument in your life, Conlon." Trey muttered.

Gabe shrugged. "Not anytime recently. Nobody dares argue with me."

"Or they just give up." Trey retorted, smirking at him. Gabe narrowed his eyes lightly even as he found truth in the statement, and as everyone else found humor in it.

"Whatever." He said finally, getting up to go do something else, but as he stood, he heard a popping sound. "What the hell was that?" He asked, looking under his feet to see if he stepped on something.

The others looked around as the noise persisted. "It's either gunshots or-…"

"Uh, guys?" Chloe asked, standing in the hall, where the Christmas lights were.

As they stood in the hall, they watched, as, one by one, all of the Christmas lights literally burst. Chloe looked back at them wide-eyed.

"I didn't do it! We just trying to take them down, and then they started popping!" She said, still baffled. They jumped again as the last light burst. They stared at the now blank stream of wire.

"Hmm…" Was all anyone could think of to say at the moment.

Emilie cocked her head to the side and shrugged. "Well, that sucks." !!

!! "So, what, you don't believe in coincidences?"

"No, I don't. I believe that everything has to happen for a reason. Maybe some things happen because you're meant to meet someone, or maybe they happen to prevent you from doing something else. Whatever the case is, I think that things happen to make you learn from it. To learn from your mistakes, should anything bad occur."

Andrianne shook her head at the man beside her. "You're a real piece of work, you know that?"

Losko merely smiled down at her. "I just like expressing my own opinion. Is that so bad?"

"I never said anything about your opinion. All I said was that you were a piece of work. It's hard to believe that 'fate' has a handle on everything." She amended with a shrug.

"I bet you're a real cynic. Alright, Miss DeMarco, what DO you believe in?"

Andrianne made a face with the title he gave her. She HATED being called 'Miss', and she knew that he knew it. 'Uh…Santa Claus?" She tried to joke, but winced at his unyielding stare. "Oh, fine…I believe that you have to make your own way. I don't think that everything will just fall into place because you may have a gut instinct or something like that." She lifted a shoulder in a matter-of-fact way. "It just doesn't happen. Trust me, I've had plenty of gut instincts, and they've all been wrong so far.'

It was Losko's turn to give her a look. " And how do you know that it wasn't fate at work, having you make those choices to lead you elsewhere?" His smile was smug.

"Oh for the-…"Andrianne gave a half-laugh. "There's no arguing with you!'

Losko grinned now and shrugged again. "Can't help it. I'm in politics."

Andrianne shook her head. "I can't imagine you in politics. I don't know why, but it just doesn't seem like you." Losko nodded his agreement.

"It's more my father's line of work. I'm more of an artsy kind of guy, I suppose." He said with a furrowed brow. "I paint in my spare time."

'That also doesn't seem like you." She muttered. "I mean, I guess it suits you, but I mean, you don't seem like the 'starving artist' or anything like that.'

Losko shook his head. "You like to judge by looks, don't you?" He shook his head again as Andrianne hid the flush on her cheeks. "For your information, I like to paint. I also like music, almost any kind. I like to get out sometimes and just lie somewhere, staring up at the sky. And the seasons." He absently picked up a little snow from the ground and sifted it through his hand. "The seasons and nature never fail to amaze me. It's never the same."

Andrianne didn't get it. Who _was _this guy? "Are you trying to prove me wrong, or do you just like listing your attributes and hobbies?"

Losko's grin was quick. "A little of both, I think." He put his hands in his pockets as he continued to stroll along with her. "The more I talk about myself, the more you may like me and want to hang around me." He said with his own reasonable logic, but she secretly admitted to it. "Anyway, there you have it. I'm a nice guy, and I love being outside. So what about you?'

"Me, huh?" Andrianne chewed on her lip. "Well, you asked for it. Let's see, I'm a writer, so I guess that means I read a lot, too, right? I like to cause trouble, which is good because I happen to get in it as much as possible anyway. I'm sarcastic, I'm mean, I instigate, and I'm not a whole lot of fun."

"Liar, liar, pants on fire." Losko accused, only making her laugh. "I can safely assume that only a few of those things are true, if any. Now, you want to try that again?"

"No, not really." Andrianne said, looking up as snow began to fall again. "The sun's gone." She muttered, more to herself than to him. "And it's really cloudy."

Losko sighed inwardly. Obviously, he was going to have to teach her about her own worth, but he relaxed his gaze on her and looked up at the sky, and felt her immediately loosen a little. "Smells kind of like rain. But it's snowing…" He shook his head. "We'd better enjoy it, then, while we still have the chance."

Andrianne raised a brow at him. "What are you-…oh no. No you don't-…" Before she could even get the words out, Losko had picked up snow and packed it into a ball…and rubbed it into her hair and on her head.

She could only stand there, slightly shocked. Did he just do what she thought he did?! _Why that no good…_Andrianne bent down herself.

"Whoa…wait a minute, Andy. You know it was all for fun, right?" Losko held up his hands to ward her off. "Andy…I don't like that look in your eye…No…put it down-…"

Andrianne simply pelted him with a snowball and stuck her tongue out at him. "How's that, Mr. Nice-Guy?" She squealed as he tossed another ball at her and laughed. "Your aim sucks!"

"I'm just getting warmed up!" He retorted, finally hitting her with another.

As the fight went on, the sky slowly released its load; rain and snow together.

"Unbelievable!" Andrianne declared. "You goof, let's go before we're frozen out here!"

"I live to serve, my lady!" Losko grabbed her hand and ran with her to the lodging house for shelter.

"You are crazy." Andrianne muttered, wringing out her already soaked hair. "I don't know exactly why yet, but you are."

Losko nodded with a grin. "True." And before he thought about it, he placed a gentle hand on the side of her face and began to lean down.

Andrianne's eyes were wide, even as he stopped barely an inch away from her face. Losko seemed to have thought twice about it and pulled away, plastering a smile on his face.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He promised, and left without another word, leaving Andrianne standing in the doorway, puzzled. Why did she feel so disappointed? She watched him walk down the street, occasionally kicking up snow as a child might.

What moved inside her heart, she knew, had no place there.

Shaking her head, she headed upstairs to change. !!

!! Kloppman sat behind the desk, like always. He had to do something in order to keep from telling everyone that they had a curfew, because they didn't anymore. They were all grown up, and that was something that he had to remember, no matter how much it hurt.

They would always be like sons and daughters to him, even as they grew up and had sons and daughters of their own, they so many of them had so far.

Pretending to fill out ledgers and forms helped pass the time, he supposed. But he admitted that a lot of the time, he was sneaking looks inside all of the old ledgers they had signed as kids. The rest of the time he looked at old pictures that he had currently taken to putting in an album.

What would he do when they all left again? Would they ever come back? Of course they would, he thought shaking his head. He liked to think that they missed the old place as much as he missed them in it.

But he also had a disturbing thought: what if he wasn't around to see them come back? He wasn't young anymore, and he was beginning to feel it. It helped that there was always a new lodger to keep him on his toes, but he'd been having pains everywhere lately. What if something happened? He didn't want to be alone.

Kloppman shook himself out of his reverie. _I won't be alone. They wouldn't leave me alone. I know that, don't I?_

But even as he thought that, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Rubbing a heel over the area, he closed his eyes to ride out the pain. He then rubbed the nagging ache in his arm. Once it had subsided, he shook his head. Maybe it was time to see a doctor or something.

He'd see to that in the morning. Now, it was time to go back to work.

So where did the new ledger go!!

!! "Okay, how about this. Who was the worst person that you've ever been in a relationship with?"

Ray furrowed her brow and leaned back in her chair in the kitchen, trying to think. "There was a guy in the U.K. that made me feel like I was sleeping with a little kid."

Andrianne laughed. "Great. What happened?"

"I told him to go find a doll to play with and I left."

"Nice."

"Your turn." Ray said. "Who was your worst?"

"_Who _was my worst?" Andrianne drummed her fingers on the table. She finally gave up. "I've got a few ties."

Ray raised a brow. "I was expecting you to talk about Ben."

"Ben? Well let's see here. Met him about a year before I left, and met him again the day I left. We were married two months later."

"For real?" Ray asked, baffled.

"Yup. I didn't really even like the guy, but I like finishing what I start, so I kept with it for a few years before we broke it off." Andrianne tossed back her drink.

"He was a reporter for a Chicago paper, wasn't he?"

"Mm."

"Was it his work that made you hop a train?" Ray asked gently.

"His work? Nah, I was fine with it. I just wasn't aware that his job description includes sleeping with a showgirl on his wife's birthday."

Ray winced. "Ouch. I think that gets two drinks."

"I agree. He even took my store that I had in Chicago during the settlement. But ironically I don't even think that's the worst relationship I've had.

"Your turn again." Andrianne continued. "What was one of the worst things to happen to you in a relationship?"

"Well…hmm." Ray chewed her lip. "I guess that would have to be one of my latest. I had a miscarriage."

"Jeez, Ray."

"It's not so bad. I wouldn't have made a very good mom, anyway." Ray shrugged it off, even as a knot tightened in her stomach as her head tossed around its usual "What if?"

"What about you?" Ray asked, passing the bottle back.

Andrianne gave a small smile, and decided to pull her hair back to show off the side of her face. "His name was Tony, and he was a real scumbag." She declared, showing off the scattered scars.

"I stayed with him for little over a year. The first time he hit me, I shrugged it off. I figured it was an accident. It didn't take too long for me to realize the truth." Andrianne put her hair down and leaned back. "I put up with it without any fight, until one day when I looked in the mirror. I was so disgusted with myself. I decided to put an end to it."

"What happened?"

"I knocked him on his ass and told him we were through."

Ray grinned. "Now _that _sounds more like you. How'd he take it?"

'He decided to give me a parting shot and smashed a bottle over my face." Andrianne shrugged at the gasp from across the table. "He stopped coming at me, though, when I pointed his gun at him. And I ended up in jail for about a month."

"_What?! _What on earth for?!"

"One of the neighbors heard the fight and called the cops. They saw me with the gun and naturally assumed that I was the cause." She shrugged again. "As soon as I was out, I went to Maine. That's why I stopped writing to you. I was feeling ashamed, I guess."

Ray couldn't find words at the moment, so she instead laid a hand over her friends until she looked up. And Ray smiled at her. Andrianne smiled back for the moment.

"So this is why you're celibate?"

"This is why I'm celibate."

"You shouldn't give up so easily. Seems to me that your new guy likes you a hell of a lot." Ray merely shrugged off Andrianne's look. "But whatever. When did this all happen?"

"Must've been…oh, three years ago?"

Ray spit out her drink in surprise. "You've been without a guy for _that long?_ I mean, you've not slept with anyone for that long?"

"I said celibacy. Not chastity. There's a difference." Andrianne rolled her eyes at her friend. "Is that all you think about?'

"No." Ray defended. "I also think about food and music. About long walks on the beach and the setting or rising sun. Sleeping, oh, I love sleeping." She grinned. "Not much to me, I guess."

"You, my friend, need a life."

"I can't help it." Ray shrugged.

"I've got one more question." Andrianne said.

"Shoot."

"What happened to your grey bandana? You always had it in your back pocket. I noticed because I always used to steal it and hide it, but I can't anymore."

Ray grinned at her friend. She'd always be the same on the inside. Her smile softened, however, when she thought about the bandana. "I left it with my parents."

"With your…"Andrianne merely smiled softly when she got it. "Oh."

Ray looked up at Andrianne. "You know, it was kind of fun to get back at him," she said, speaking of her old enemy who had also killed her parents. He was entirely the reason she left NY in the first place. "You'll have your chance soon."

Andrianne's head snapped up. She shook her head, thinking of the man who took her own family's lives. "Maybe." She would look for him now that she was back. Maybe she'd stay longer just for that fact.

"So, what's up with this Losko fellow? Someone I'd like to meet?"

Andrianne looked up at her friend, baffled, before she laughed and rubbed her hands over her face. "Maybe. I don't kiss and tell even if I am kissed, so don't even think about asking it."

"Perish the thought. But I want the rest of the night in detail." !!

!! Gabe looked down at the ring in his hand. Was he doing the right thing? Should he even attempt this? What if she said no? What if she through the ring back in his face?

Then again, what if she said _yes?_

Gabe rubbed his hands over his face. "Conlon, you're in a rut." He muttered to himself. He glanced around the corner at Cosette. And he smiled.

God, she was beautiful. _What's a girl like that doing with a jerk like me?_

He glanced around again. Good, they were alone. Now he could do this, and it would be just them for the time being. Nobody to smirk at him behind his back or laugh at him if he messed up. Not that he cared.

If they did laugh, he'd mess _them _up. Gabe smirked at that. _That's a pretty good line. Mess them up…I gotta write that down somewhere. _

Gabe shook himself out of his own head and tried to focus on the task at hand. Why was he looking at this as if it was his death sentence?

_Because if she says yes, you're no longer single. You're not Spot Conlon anymore, and this will prove it for good. That's why._

"God that voice is annoying." He mumbled, and then he caught himself. It was never a good sign when you started hearing voices in your head.

_Stop stalling and do it! _He snapped at himself. _You're such a pansy!_

To prove himself wrong, Gabe strutted into the room as he always did. Cosette didn't even look up from her current artwork.

And made him jump when she spoke.

"If you were going to sneak up on me, you didn't do a very good job." Cosette murmured, glancing at the current subject of her artistic praise. Gabe glanced over her shoulder and shook his head. She'd never fail to awe him.

"I wasn't trying to, but thanks for the update." Gabe said, annoyed that his voice hitched a little. Was he really that nervous? It's just a proposal!

"Hey, Cosette, d'you think you could put that down long enough for me to talk to you?" He asked, assuming his usual tone.

Cosette glanced back at him. "I guess. Just hang on a second." She said, putting a few finishing touches on it. Gabe nodded, slightly glad that he'd have a few more moments to calm himself.

Cosette finally put down her pad, and after glancing back at it longingly, she focused her attention on Gabe. "What's the matter?" She asked, finding him paler than usual.

"Wrong? Nothing. Nothing's wrong, why do you ask?" Gabe's voice hitched again. _Oh for crying out loud!_

"Because you're pale enough to be mistaken for dead." Cosette said softly.

Gabe looked at the sitting room mirror. And snapped his attention back to Cosette, scared by his own reflection. _I'm a nervous wreck. I've never been this nervous before. C'mon, Conlon! You've been through a few strikes, you've fought guys twice your size, and you've been through hell. WHY ARE YOU SO NERVOUS ABOUT A FREAKING PROPOSAL?!_

"Well…look, Cosette. We've been together for, what, a few years now, right?" He started. Cosette gave him a suspicious look.

"Yeah…?"

"Right. So I mean, don't you think it's time that we…" Gabe shook his head. "What I mean is…uh…"

Cosette raised a brow. "Are you feeling okay?"

Gabe sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Then he placed a hand on one of hers.

"We've been together for a few years. And I don't think it really matters how long we've been together," Gabe said, finding his own rhythm, "Because they were amazing. But it hasn't nearly been long enough."

Cosette's eyes had their old doe-look about them again. "Gabe…?"

"You're an amazing woman, Cosette Bellamont." Gabe reached in his pocket and pulled out the ring as he got on one knee. And he brandished the ring as if it held the answer to all life's questions.

"Will you marry me?" He asked softly. Cosette could only stare at it, then glanced at him. Then back at the ring.

When she spoke, her voice hitched. "Did you seriously ask that?"

It was Gabe's turn to raise a brow. "Yeah…I think so."

Cosette wet her bottom lip. "You're serious? You're not joking about this?"

Gabe shook his head with a hesitant smile. _She's not going to say no, is she?! _Cosette slid forward slightly in her seat, looking down at him. Then her face lifted, and her smile rose.

"Yes."

"Huh?"

"Yes, I'll marry you."

Gabe's jaw dropped. 'Really?"

"Really." Cosette nodded with a laugh.

Gabe stood and grabbed her out of her seat and spun her around. "I love you." Gabe said finally, holding her face with both hands and kissing her gently.

They pulled apart, however, when cheering resounded from the doorway. Gabe and Cosette looked at the group of people, surprised.

Marty looked apologetic. "I was passing by, and I might have made a mention of the situation in the kitchen, and they might have made a mention of it upstairs…and before I knew it, almost the entire lodging house was down here." He shrugged with a sheepish smile.

"I'm not ashamed!" Michael declared. "The Infamous Spot Conlon is getting HITCHED!" More cheers erupted at this statement.

But then a scream interrupted the festivities.

The newly formed mob headed to the front hall to see where the scream had originated from. And they found Annabelle against the wall with her hand over her mouth in shock, and Ray and Andrianne kneeling on the ground. Kloppman's body was sprawled between them.

"We've got to get him to a doctor!" Jack ordered. "Somebody grab a blanket, we'll cover him and take him quickly!"

"Too late." Ray said, leaning back on her heels, her eyes wet. "We were too late." She repeated.

"He's gone." !!

!! –Ducks various items being thrown at her- I know! I did a bad thing! But trust me, nothing else bad happens! Well, nothing _this _bad anyway. I'm sorry! Don't hurt me! And please review. Even if it's a nasty comment about this chapter. Still review. It makes me happy. !!


	7. Fate at work?

!! Snow, in some cultures, is believed to be a pure substance. It can be used for many things, from building to eating. Snow is also said to bring happiness, even in the saddest of times.

But, somehow, no matter how much of the beautiful stuff fell, no happiness could be brought to those around the small gravesite.

Those who braved the cold tried to offer some consolation to the others, but it seemed all were inconsolable at the moment. Many held a single white rose, and some of them held on to it for dear life. Nobody said a word for the longest time.

Hannah had asked Marty to stay home and wait for them, but knowing Marty, knew that her efforts were in vain. No matter what sickness might befall him, Marty would be there for his friend and the only father that he ever knew. The only father that many of them had taken to be their own.

_It's my fault. _They said simultaneously in silence. Hannah closed her eyes as she accepted the blame.

_If I hadn't have prayed so hard for Marty, and made a promise I never meant to keep, this never would have happened. I said I would sacrifice anything. I never meant for it to mean any_one.

Marty believed that _he _was to blame. _I should've known. I saw the signs. He even told me he wasn't feeling too well. But then again he said he was going to go to the doctor, too. I should've made him go sooner. I'm such a fool. _The tears he fought hard to suppress fell slowly down his cheeks.

There was no formal eulogy. Kloppman would've never wanted a formal laying-to-rest. Kloppman wasn't that type of guy. So, anyone with anything to say spoke up, with a story of how Kloppman managed to change their life, or perhaps a funny thing that happened. No secrets were kept.

"It's too cold to stay much longer." Hannah murmured to Marty. "You've been out here for nearly an hour already. We can come back later."

Marty glanced down at her, and then looked back at the gravesite. "I-…"

"I know, Marty. I do." Hannah said softly, laying a gentle hand on his cheek. "It seems that if you leave him here now, that he's gone forever. But he's not. You know that."

Marty's gaze was riveted on the small stone. Then he slowly nodded. "Alright. I'll come back later." Going up to the stone, he crouched long enough to place his rose on the newly formed mound. He stood a moment, gathering his thoughts.

"See you around, Mr. Kloppman." Marty said softly, turning back to Hannah and walking back to the lodging house with her.

No matter how short of time that he had with him, Alex silently mourned. What a rare person, he thought. To have taken in all of these people, without a lot of monetary gain. To not only give them shelter, but care for them as a father or family member might.

Whatever way Alex looked at it, the world had just lost an amazing man. Rubbing Cassandra's arms, he murmured soft words to her to ease her pain. But no matter how warm he was, or where she stood, Cassandra felt frozen.

With a nod at his suggestion, Cassandra turned the rose around in her fingers once, before gingerly laying it beside the others. "We should get back to the children. I doubt they understand what's going on. Jenn and Dom need a chance to come down here, anyway. They've watched them for long enough." She said stiffly, walking back to the lodging house with purpose.

_A heart attack. The old man that survived almost anything else thrown at him died from a stupid heart attack. _Ray couldn't believe it. _I should've never left all those years ago. If I hadn't, I wouldn't feel so robbed right now. I miss you already, you stubborn old bat. _

Brendon's eyes were dry. Perhaps he was just in shock. He didn't know, but at the moment he felt like a heartless bastard. He couldn't find his voice, so he hadn't been able to say what he wanted to say. He couldn't find his thoughts, so no tears would come. He felt as if he had let Kloppman down. He glanced up from the gravesite and across it at Ray, and he thought perhaps that if he could help someone through it, maybe he wouldn't be such a failure, after all.

Beautiful no matter what, he thought as he made his way over to her. Even in grief. She looked like she was trying so hard to keep her composure. Who was it helping or hurting if she refused to let it out? Brendon laid a hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. And he saw another shield drop as her eyes welled.

"Come on." He said softly. "If we leave, you won't have to let anyone see you." He gently put his arm around her shoulder and led her away slowly.

Now blanketed with a thin layer of snow, the abandoned gravesite covered with white roses showed how much this man was loved. Just like the man inside, it would wait for its next visitor. !!

!! Losko hurried towards the lodging house. _Was it true? Was he really gone? _If it hadn't been for the sight of all of the ex-newsies (and current newsies) leaving the cemetery, he would never have known that Kloppman had died.

For the past three years, Losko had been acquainted with the old man. They had both needed some sort of support, and had both helped the other in some way.

And now he was gone. What a terrible shame, Losko thought. Removing his hat, he knocked on the lodging house door, wary of what he might find on the other side. When the door opened, he came face to face with an attractive woman with blue eyes and…was that dark blue hair?

"Can I help you?" She asked, her voice hitching slightly, but her composure fairly strong. Losko could see that she was barely suppressing grief. He couldn't blame her.

"I'm Losko…Losko Orlov." He introduced. "I was acquainted with Mr. Kloppman, and I wanted to stop by to tell everyone how terribly sorry I am. If there is ever anything I can do…"

Ray leaned against the doorframe. Her eyes held bitter cynicism. "If you can't bring him back, I doubt there's anything else you could do." She said softly, but finding empathy in his eyes and not sympathy, she gestured for him to enter.

After closing the door she studied him. Not bad, she thought. "So you're Losko, huh?" She asked. "I'm willing to bet that there's someone who'd be glad to see you right about now."

Leading him to a room, she gestured towards the fireplace, which was the only light in the room. There, on the floor in front of an armchair with a bottle in her hand and her dog at her feet, sat Andrianne.

Losko barely heard the door behind him close as he took of his coat and set it down. He stepped towards her, and Max's ears twitching were the only indication that they knew he was in the room.

She was trembling slightly, he saw. And she was glaring at the fireplace as if it were her enemy. Kneeling down beside her, he gingerly took hold of the bottle and just as gingerly, took it from her hand. He was glad she didn't fight him for it.

'So, tell me." Andrianne started, her voice shaky and bitter. "If this so-called 'fate' has everything in control, then what possible reason does it have for taking Kloppman away? It doesn't do anyone any good."

Losko shook his head lightly. He knew there was no answer to her question, and he knew she probably didn't want one. He set the bottle down, and after gently turning her face to him, he pulled her into his arms. There wasn't any point in saying anything, so he hoped this would be enough.

Andrianne's eyes widened slightly at this sudden show of comfort. Immediately her guard was let down, and she clung to him, letting out all her grief. !!

!! Ray sat back down in the sitting room, leaning forward in her chair, folding her fingers and tapping them against her mouth. She glanced about the room, looking at everyone's faces. They all seemed so lost now.

For some reason, everyone didn't realize that Kloppman was really the center of everything. Now that he was gone, nobody knew what to do. What would happen to the lodging house? Who would run it? Would it just be abandoned? What about all the current occupants? Where would they go now?

The Refuge most likely. She shuddered at that thought. Even though Snyder no longer ran the place, she heard that it was ten times as bad. How the hell did they hide all of the bad things from the weekly inspections? Sneaky jerks, she thought.

Thinking now of the Refuge, she smiled slowly. Seeing the sudden change of mood, Mike furrowed his brow. "What are you smiling about?" he grumbled.

Ray shrugged. "I was just thinking about that time when Kloppman told Snyder off. That's all…"

"Whoa…wait. Kloppman told Snyder off? When did this happen?" Jack asked. "I don't remember that."

"That's because you were in the Refuge. Remember, you decided it would be fun to skirt out of the strike and live the high life?" Trey pointed out meaningfully. Jack visibly flushed.

"Oh."

Ray rolled her eyes. "Snyder came around looking for random newsies involved in the strike to lock up. Kloppman pretty much told him that he was a horse's rear and that unless he had a warrant or legal cause, he had better get out of the lodging house before he'd sic us on him."

"Go Kloppy." Mike muttered with a small smile.

Trey leaned back. "This reminds me. Remember that time when we were younger when we asked Kloppman how birds flew? And then we decided to try it and we leaped off the roof flapping away?"

A few people laughed at the memory. Trey shook his head. "We all broke something, and he made up a story about some stupid kids that decided to break their necks. He made us all cry."

"As long as we're in the 'Story-telling' category, anyone remember when we asked him to tell us a story when we were younger? And he started making fun of everyone in the bunkroom?" Jake asked. "Trey thought he was a pirate for weeks."

"I _am _a pirate." Trey said with a grin. They laughed at him.

David raised his glass. "To our Kloppman. May he keep badgering people for all eternity." Getting a few laughs, everyone else raised their glass as well.

"_To our Kloppman_." !!

!! Brendon could always lose himself in a good book. There was just something about imagining the different places, and transforming yourself into the person to feel as they felt. He'd never admit it to everyone, but this happened to be one of his favorite forms of getting away.

Which is why he hurriedly hid the book under his pillow when someone entered his room without knocking. When he saw who it was, his heart sped up familiarly.

"You know, I could've been naked in here." He said lightly as he sat up. Ray merely smiled softly.

"I know. But I'm sure it's nothing too extraordinary." She took a seat on the foot of the bed.

Brendon pretended to be hurt as he patted at his heart. "You just go right for the jugular, don't you?" He teased. After a moment of silence, he regarded her warily. "Are you alright?"

Ray shrugged slightly. "As good as I can be, I guess. As good as any one of us can be." She looked up at him, and then got up to nose through his make-shift room. "Listen…I just…uh…" She sighed, trying to find her words. "I wanted to say thanks…for earlier. You didn't have to take me back to the lodging house, and you most certainly didn't have to stay with me."

Brendon watched her. "You're ignorant if you thought I wouldn't." He stated simply. When she looked back at him, he gave her a small smile. She relaxed a little, and continued to peruse.

"Why did you?" She asked suddenly.

Brendon's brow furrowed. "Why did I what?'

"Why did you do that for me? Strike that, why have you always done that for me?" Ray asked. "Just because we're friends?" She asked.

Brendon tried to think about what he should say next. If she didn't get it now, he doubted she ever would. Then again, he'd never been very clear with anything. Brendon knew that Ray simply thought of him as a brother, nothing more, and nothing less. But as for her, he'd always been in love with her, and he had a feeling he always would be. If he told her how he really felt straight out, she could reject him, and he admitted that it would hurt. So what could he do?

"I did it because I care about you." He answered finally. It didn't give away anything, and it was true enough.

Ray didn't seem to be mollified by this response. "Because you care about me…?"

Brendon nodded slowly. "What else would it be?"

Ray shook her head. "I don't know…" Why do I care all of a sudden? She asked herself. Maybe my emotions are just going haywire right now…

_And you're stupid if you believe that. It's not just right now, you've been thinking about this for years._

She jumped slightly when she felt his hand on her shoulder. When she faced him, her heart sped up. _What's wrong with me?_

"Were you thinking something like this?" Brendon asked, catching her face in his hands and kissing her.

Ray's eyes were wide as her hands fisted into his shirtsleeves. Why did this suddenly feel right? When Brendon pulled back, she couldn't find her voice.

"It would probably help if you said something…" Brendon said softly, his hand warm on her cheek. Ray resisted the urge to lean into it and lean into him. This couldn't be. It couldn't happen anyway.

"I don't know what you want me to say…" Her voice shook.

Brendon sighed. "Say that you want to be with me. Say that you'll at least try to love me."

Ray shook her head slowly. She couldn't possibly. He was such a good guy, and he deserved more than she could ever give him. "I can't." She said finally. No matter how much she wanted to, it would just hurt them both more when he realized that she wouldn't be able to go through the long term with him.

"You can't…?" He asked tentatively. "Or you won't?"

Ray swallowed. "Both. I'm so sorry…" She shook her head and walked back out the door without another word.

Brendon stood where he was for a moment before running his hands through his hair and collapsing on the bed.

"Well, that could've gone better." He mumbled into the pillow. !!

!! "I don't see why you just won't let it go for now." Arielle said rubbing her temples.

"Because YOU refuse to." Jack argued. "If it's such a big deal that we can't wait until we get home to discuss it, then we might as well figure it out right now."

"We've been discussing it even before we got engaged! It should have been resolved by now!" Arielle said. "Why can't we seem to compromise on this little issue?"

"I hate to think that us deciding where we're going to spend the rest of our lives is a little issue." Jack snarled.

Arielle sighed heavily. "Jack, really, do we have to go over this again right this instant?!"

'It seems to me that putting it off will only make it worse."

"No, bringing it up over and over again in any type of conversation is making it worse." Arielle retorted. "If you weren't so stubborn and pig-headed we could-…"

"_I'm _the stubborn one?! _I'm _pig-headed?!"

"Yes, you're stubborn and pig-headed. And evidently you're _deaf, _too!"

"Insulting me isn't exactly the way to make me see your side of the deal, Arielle." Jack warned.

Arielle wearily shook her head. "You know something, Jack, if we're having this much trouble over something as trivial as which side of the country we're going to live on, then maybe we shouldn't get married at all." Once it was said, she realized she couldn't take it back. They both stared at each other, letting it sink in.

"Maybe not." Jack agreed softly.

"Fine. I'm calling the whole thing off." Arielle said, pulling the ring of her finger and placing it in his hand, and then walking out.

Jack stared after her a moment, before staring down at the ring. He felt numb suddenly. Putting the ring in his pocket, he walked out the opposite direction. !!

!! Emilie leaned back against her husband. What a day, she thought, and then corrected herself. What a _month._ So many things happening so soon, it was a wonder that nothing else was going on at this moment.

"You feeling alright?" David asked.

Emilie nodded. "It's my back again. I've been getting spasms the past couple of days…"

"And you didn't say anything about them because…?" David raised a brow at her.

Emilie merely stuck her tongue out at him. "You're worse than my mother. I'll be fine. I know about this kind of thing, remember? That was me that had the other three children."

David rolled his eyes. "I'm just looking out for you, that's all. No need to be snide." He kissed the top of her head.

"Sorry. It's just beginning to bug the heck out of me. I love kids and I love the process of _getting _them. I just hate the waiting period and the whole…birth…thing." She nearly cried. "I want to see my toes again."

David smiled at her. "You don't have to wait too much longer, love. I promise. If those back spasms are any indication, it may be sooner than we think."

"I hope so." Emilie sighed. "It's a shame that Kloppman won't be around to see the baby. I really wanted him to."

"So did I." David admitted. "Maybe we should think of Kloppman as a guardian angel now." They looked at each other and almost immediately laughed at that comment. "Well it sounded like a good idea."

Emilie sighed at herself. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go to the ladies' room." She slowly got up.

"Need any help?"

Emilie snorted. "No, I'm pretty sure this is one thing I can handle alone. Thanks."

David flushed slightly. "Sorry."

"Right. Don't worry. I'll be gone a while, so be expecting a postcard or something."

David smiled and shook his head after her. !!

!! Jake propped Cindie's feet up on his lap after she had adjusted the pillow behind her head to her liking. She gasped at the sudden back spasm.

"You alright?" Jake asked, concerned.

"I think so…either the kid just kicked its way through my body or my back decided to secede from the rest of my torso." Cindie said shifting a little.

Jake grinned at her. "Maybe it'll be a dancer when he or she grows up."

"If so this kid's gonna be one hell of a can-can dancer."

"Just try to relax, I'm sure it'll go away soon." Jake reasoned.

Cindie nodded and took a deep breath. It hitched however when a sharp pain in her back ripped along her nerves. "Holy crap…"

"Maybe you should sit up…" Jake suggested, helping his fiancée to do so. "Has this been happening a lot?"

"Kind of…I mean, only for a few days…"

"A few _days?!_"

'I didn't think anything of it. They didn't happen like this. Ouch…" Cindie took another deep breath. "I don't think this kid likes me very much."

Jake shook his head. "You're just stressed from today…maybe the baby felt it. Supposedly stress is bad for a baby."

"And you would know because you had one, right?" Cindie muttered.

Jake disregarded her last statement. "Uh oh…"

"What uh-oh? Uh-oh's aren't good…" Cindie looked down. "Oh…uh oh…"

Jake looked up at her. "Is it…?"

"Holy crap…!" Cindie cried out as another sharp pain wracked her system. "They aren't back spasms…I think I'm going into labor!" !!

!! Ray walked into the lodging house, weary from the day. Rubbing the back of her neck, she wondered what else could possibly happen.

That's when she saw the chaos unfold.

"What the hell's going on?" she asked, watching everyone rush around.

"Cindie's going into labor!" Jenn said hurriedly. "Half of us have no idea what to do, so we're just joining in and running around." She shrugged and ran back out to make sure the walk was clear. "Oh. Great! It's snowing really bad out here. You can't really see the road!" She shouted from outside.

Cassandra was in the room with Cindie, coaching her through the pains and contractions.

"You're sure we shouldn't rush her to the hospital now?" Jake asked, jittery now.

"I'm pretty sure. I've been through this a few times myself." Cassandra said gently. "That's a girl, just breathe, it'll be over soon."

Alex grabbed a hold of Jake's shoulder. "You can come help me. It'll get your mind off it." He tugged Jake along with him outside.

Andrianne and Losko looked around the lodging house as they exited the room.

"It hasn't been this busy since the strike." Andrianne mumbled. "I mean, when Cassandra first got pregnant."

Losko stopped the first person that rushed by. "Where's the fire?"

"Cindie's going into labor. All the snow coming down means that she may have to deliver here." With that they rushed away into the kitchen.

Andrianne shook her head. "Here, of all places. I bet she's wishing she's back at home."

Another cry of pain from upstairs made them all jump.

David rushed down into the sitting room, breathless.

"Oh, not you, too." Gabe whined. "We'll never get any sleep."

"Her water just broke." David rushed. "We gotta get her out of here."

"No can do, bub." Sarah said walking past him to go upstairs. "Nobody can go anywhere. We've got a mini blizzard outside. They're going to have to give birth here."

David looked around. "_Here?_" He ran upstairs after her.

"Now are we sure that it's actual _labor…_?" Ray asked. "I mean I've heard that sometimes it's just a false alarm."

Both women cried out simultaneously. Ray made a face.

"But I've been wrong before."

"Can you two come with me to help Emilie? I'll show you what to do…" Cassandra swept past them without waiting for a response.

Andrianne and Ray looked at each other, then started upstairs.

"Sorry, chum." Andrianne said to Losko, feeling slightly sick to her stomach. "You're going to have to deal with the men folk."

"This is why I'm never having kids." Ray muttered.

"You're Losko?" Jack asked. Shaking his hand, he led Losko into the kitchen. "Looks like you've been recruited. Welcome to the High Life, brother." !!

!! Ta-da! Maybe what Losko said has some truth, after all, eh? **–**Does a happy dance- I'm glad how this is turning out. I was a little worried there for a second. If you liked it too, please review! Hey, look, I rhymed! Whoot whoot. !!


	8. Babies, Dresses, and Thugs, Oh My!

!!Thanks to all those who have R&R'ed so far...I love you and hope I can return the favor later on! Now...read away dear friends!!

!! "Why do _I _have to do towel duty? It involves blood and fluids and grossness…"

"Because I was smart enough to suggest _you _first."

"Jerk. And I say that as unloving as possible."

"Ladies!" Cassandra scolded. "Can you two stop bickering and focus on the task at hand?"

Ray and Andrianne stuck their tongues out at each other once more before turning back to Cassandra and the laboring Emilie.

Emilie cried out in frustration as much as pain. "It's usually a lot faster than this!"

Cassandra patted Emilie's stomach to help soothe. "Sometimes it takes a while. Just hang in there." She said softly.

"Look at the bright side," Ray put in, mopping off Emilie's brow. "At least you'll be skinny again."

Emilie laughed a little before crying out again. "Ugh! I HATE MEN!"

'That's it, sister, let it out." Andrianne stated, fetching various objects that Cassandra requested.

"You might want to get her some ice to chew on or something," Cassandra suggested. "It's not coming out any time soon."

Andrianne and Ray nearly whined. "It's not?"

"No."

"Maaan…" Andrianne slumped out to do as she was told.

Ray sat on the side of the bed and looked down at Emilie. "So…how are you feeling?' She winced when Emilie growled at her. "That good, huh?"

"Just keep breathing, darling." Cassandra suggested. "It'll help."

"That's what they all say!" Emilie threw her head back on the pillow.

"Maybe I should go get David." Cassandra started. "It may help to have him in here."

"No!" Emilie shouted. "If I see him right now I'll get off the bed and strangle him to death."

"Good point." Cassandra muttered. !!

!! It was tough to be a male in the household at the moment. Once everyone found out that both women were going into labor, everyone tried to pitch in as much as possible.

But then the womenfolk decided that the men weren't nearly helpful enough, so they were made to stay in the bunkroom.

"Well, now that we're all women here, I think we can get a lot more done." Jenn stated, trying to make Cindie as comfortable as possible.

Annabelle's face was pale as she sat daintily in a chair across the room. 'I don't really think I'll be of much help." She decided.

Sarah merely glanced up at her. "Well, we could use your help, but if you're squeamish around blood or anything like that, then you're welcome to go stay with the men." Annabelle gladly took this offer and scurried out of the room.

"_Now _we can get down to business." Jenn said with a grin.

"Perhaps I should go help upstairs." Arielle offered. "Then maybe the help will be evened out."

"Go on ahead; I think we can all manage." Sarah said absently, gathering the supplies near them.

"How will we know when it's time for her to push and all that?' Chloe asked. "I've never been around anything like this."

"We'll know.' Jenn said reassuringly. "I had a lady go into labor at my apartment while I was taking care of one of her other kids. I should know what to do."

"And I was present when my little brother, Johnny was born." Sarah said. "Basically when she starts screaming, you'll know that it's time."

"Cosette, be a darling and go boil more water, would you?" Sarah asked with a smile. Cosette, who seemed uneasy anyway, gladly took this chore and fled to the kitchen.

Cindie tried to take deep breaths, but most of them caught in her throat. If she saw Jake anytime soon, she'd kill him. "How dare he do this to me?" She cried even as she cried out in pain.

'Well, I think it's safe to say that you did your fair share of the work, too, my dear." Jenn said reasonably, smiling at Sarah across the couch. Cindie snarled lightly.

"That's not the poi-…OW!!"

Suddenly Cindie arched slightly, and her cries turned into screams.

"I think it's time." Chloe said with wide eyes.

"No, you think?" Sarah sighed. "Hand me those towels over there. Breathe, Cindie. Get ready to push." !!

!! Minutes turned into hours, and the hours seemed to grow even longer. If one looked outside, they could see the sun rising over New York.

Six hours since the chaos began, the men could do nothing but wait for news of a baby. Which baby would come first? What sex would it be?

David and Jake paced the floor so many times that they barely acknowledged that they bumped into each other anymore. Their fingers were almost bloodied after chewing on their nails so much.

And it was bugging the heck out of the other men.

Finally Alex had had enough. He reached out to grab one or both of them and drag them down into a seat. "Will you two _sit down?!_" He shook his head. "They come when they come."

"So? It doesn't help the waiting period." Jake declared, tapping his foot. "Why is it taking so long?!"

'Nobody knows. Just don't say anything like this to your woman." Alex muttered. "She'll go off on you. Believe me."

Everyone jumped up when they heard someone coming up the stairs. The tension was murder.

They all sighed when they realized that it was just Brendon.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. Did I miss anything?" He asked in a rush, putting down his coat.

"Oh, it's just you." Mike muttered, sitting back down next to his wife.

"Gee, thanks for the warm greeting." Brendon rolled his eyes and took a seat himself.

Dom nudged Losko, who happened to be sitting beside him on Dom's old bunk. "You nervous yet?" He asked jovially.

Losko merely smiled. "It's contagious, isn't it? I'm not the one who's having the baby, yet I'm anxious to see what happens."

"I know just how you feel." Dom nodded. "Happens all the time in Jenn's work. Usually the people aren't anywhere related to me, and I still get anxious."

"You talking about me again?"

They all jumped and got up again as Jenn walked into the room, drying her hands off.

"Well?" Michael prodded.

"Well what?" Jenn asked innocently, then grinned as they all yelled at her. She turned to Jake. "Well big guy, you have a baby boy."

"A…boy?" Jake let it sink in. "I have a baby boy. I knew it."

"Knew what?" David asked.

"We knew it was a boy from the start." He replied with grin.

"How could you do that?" Michael asked. "I thought they couldn't."

"It's an on-going joke between Cindie and me. She said she knew it was a boy from the start because only a guy could annoy her that much." Even as laughter followed this statement, Cassandra came into the room, glowing.

"Mr. Jacobs!" She walked to him and gave him a hug. "You've got a lovely girl and a handsome boy down the hall."

"I do?" David asked. "Wait, a girl? _And_ a boy? But that means that there were two!"

Cassandra laughed and nodded. "Yes, that's right."

"Twins…oh boy…two kids." David shook his head and went to go see his wife.

Andrianne and Ray scurried past the bunkroom and down the stairs as fast as they possibly could. Seeing the commotion, the men in the room lifted a brow.

"What's their problem?" Jenn asked, stating the obvious question.

"They've never seen a birth before." Cassandra said easily as she hugged her husband. "I believe one of them was going to go throw up, and the other was going to go join a convent to become chaste." !!

!! Brendon shook his head as he entered his current residence. Three babies, he thought. Not two, _three._ And all of them beautiful. Logan Whitaker, and Gaebriell and Elijah Jacobs.

What it must feel like, he thought, to hold a newborn in your arms. To see the likeness between you and the babe. Or two, in David's case. How wonderful could that be?

He doubted he'd ever know. Sure, Brendon had thought about it a lot, but maybe he just wasn't cut out to be a father. Or even a husband, for that matter. Yes, perhaps it was just bachelorhood for him. And that was okay, for now.

Brendon had never been into flirting, like Mike had always been. He was looking for the one girl to stay with for the rest of his life, however scary the notion first was. And though he'd tried, he never was able to find the one girl to measure up.

_You mean to say that you could never find anyone like Ray. _

With a shake of his head, Brendon silenced his thoughts and lay back on his bed, his arms behind his head.

But he couldn't stop himself from thinking about her again. What did she think about him now? Was she disgusted now that she knew he loved her? Did she ever stop and just think about him like he sometimes did about her?

Of course not, you idiot, Brendon scolded himself. You're nothing like that to her, and you know it.

He should have been used to that fact, but t still hurt to know that no matter how much he loved Ray, no matter how much he cared for her, she would never love him like that.

_Oh well. I've just got to get over it and move on, like usual. At least I get to be around her at the theater in the U.K. _

A knock on his door made him furrow his brow and sit up. Who on earth would be visiting him at an hour like this?

"It's unlocked." He called. The knock came again.

Brendon, put on guard, simply got out his old switchblade from his fighting days and kept it close to his side. It was probably some weirdo who wanted to rob him.

Standing and going to the door, he opened it, only to drop his blade and stare.

"Ray?" He asked. "What's the matter?"

Ray wet her lips, trying to figure out what to do next, since she had convinced herself to knock on his door. Finally she threw away her final restraint.

"I changed my mind." She said swiftly, before literally jumping into his arms and crushing her mouth to his. !!

!! Losko glanced up from his perusal of a random book as Andrianne walked into the room they had been in earlier. Literally dragging her feet, she trudged over to the couch and flung herself on it, face down.

Losko leaned over her with a grin. "Tired?" She merely grunted at him. "There's coffee over on the table if you want some."

'Too tired for coffee." She mumbled into the armrest. "I'm not the one who had the kid, yet I'm pooped." Andrianne rolled over and folded her arms behind her head, closing her eyes. "If this is any indication of what it could be like, I'm NEVER having children."

'You'll probably change your mind." Losko muttered under his breath. "You can't make decisions like that off of someone else's experience."

Andrianne opened one eye to a slit and peered at him. "You seem pretty sure about what I'll want in the future." She mumbled. Shaking her head, she sat up and crossed her legs. "It was kind of neat, though. I mean…one person brought two lives. Two. That's some amazing feat, let me tell you."

"I believe you." Losko said agreeably, a smile tugging at his lips.

Andrianne stared at him for a moment. "Can I ask you something? I warn you, it's off the subject entirely."

Losko shrugged. "Ask away."

"You said your last name was Orlov, did you not?"

Losko raised a brow and nodded. "I did."

"And you paint."

"Yeah…"

"Are those your paintings out in the hall?" She asked.

Losko furrowed his brow, trying to figure out what she was talking about until it dawned on him. "Oh yeah!" He said suddenly. "Completely forgot about those."

"So you did?"

"Yeah, I did." Losko nodded with a smile. "Why?"

Andrianne shrugged. "I was just kind of curious. They're very good." She said, almost regrettably. "But why would Kloppman have your paintings?"

"Well… a few years ago, I first tried to sell my art. I couldn't find any buyers. I came to the lodging house, where I met Kloppman, and we made a deal.

"You see," He continued as he shifted on the couch, "The lodging house was losing funding, and Kloppman had very little money to work with to pay off all the bills to keep it running. So we made a deal; if he promoted my art, like those two pieces in there, I'd help him out with money." He grinned. "As you can see, it must have worked out. I had buyers not two weeks later, and he could pay off bills."

Losko observed her reaction and concern filled his eyes. "Are you alright?"

Andrianne noted that she had gone slack-jawed, and quickly amended that fact. She shook herself out of it, but couldn't wipe the surprise and wonder from her face. "Who _are _you?!" She blurted suddenly, taking him aback.

"Huh?"

Standing, she began to pace. "I mean, a lot, if not all, of the upper class people wouldn't even have bothered to do something like that. They wouldn't have thought anything of it if it didn't fully affect them." Andrianne gave him a once-over. "I can't seem to figure you out. I mean, you're in politics, but you're not an asshole. You're upper class, yet you're still not an asshole. Where the hell did you come from?!" She nearly shouted.

Losko, trying to figure out why she was upset, stood as well. "Usually when someone finds out what I'm like, they don't start yelling at me for it." He pointed out softly.

Andrianne sighed frustrated. "Look, I'm sorry, but I just can't figure you out. There's got to be some sort of … _flaw_ or something!" She shook her head. "I don't understand why you're such a nice guy. Why do you bother with all those things?" She asked, halting her stride. "Even ten years ago, why did you even bother to talk to me? Or to smile at me?"

Losko put his hands in his pockets, jingling the change in them. "First off…I don't understand why you have to 'figure me out' or understand me. Secondly, I don't believe that people should be better than one another because of class or race or sex. It shouldn't be like that, and it's a shame that you're used to it being that way."

Andrianne rolled her eyes. "Now I can see why you're in politics. That statement was full of pity and full of bull. B-U-L-L." She grabbed her coat. "I'm going for a walk."

Losko looked after her confused before grabbing up his own.

"I understand that you must still be really emotional after all you've been through lately, but do you honestly have to take it out on me?" He asked once he caught up to her.

"You wouldn't get it." Andrianne said, staring ahead. "You just wouldn't understand."

"Try me," Losko said, gripping her shoulders and turning her to face him. "Make me understand."

"What would you like me to say?" Andrianne asked, nearly tossing up her hands in defeat.

"How about this, tell me why you left." Losko said, determined now. "What happened to make you leave all those years ago? Maybe then we'll see the root of the problem."

"You want to know? Fine." Andrianne said, pulling away. "Ten years ago, I had the biggest crush on a guy I didn't even know, and knew I never would. No matter what, I saw him everyday as I went to sell, and he'd smile at me as if I was someone important. As if I wasn't just a streetrat." Her voice cracked slightly as she continued on.

"I finally got a chance to meet him when I ran into him at the train station. We talked like we were best friends until he left. After that, I knew that I loved him, but I also knew I could never be with him because of what I was. No," Andrianne dodged his touch and his interruption. "Let me finish. When he came back, it was like he never left. He'd come and go for business, and I'd always meet him, and we'd just hang out as friends.

"One day he was picked up at the station, so I couldn't meet up with him. He had told me where he lived, so I decided to surprise him. When I got to the house, it looked like there was a huge party going on. All these men in suits, and all the women in beautiful and expensive looking dresses." Andrianne smiled bitterly. "I hid in the bushes as a carriage came up, because I didn't know how anyone would react to having a newsie around the premises. And out he came, looking as handsome as ever. I almost called out to him, before I saw him help out a very attractive woman from the carriage. He kissed her hand and walked in with her, talking and laughing.

"That was when I realized for certain that I wouldn't be anything like that to him. I was just someone he was being nice to. He was way out of my league.

"When I was walking back to the lodging house, I bumped into the man that was going to be my future husband and ex. The rest is history." Andrianne shrugged, as if her story had been nothing. "Happy?"

Losko shook his head. "No. Andrianne…did you…?" He shook his head again. "You just described-…"

"Yeah I know." She interrupted. "But it doesn't matter, because he's still out of my league." She looked up at him. "So if you'll excuse me, I'm tired. I'm going to bed." Andrianne started past him, but when he grabbed her arm, she nearly bit his head off.

"If you think-…"

"Shut up for a minute." He interrupted this time, pulling her to him and kissing her, even if only to shut her up. When he pulled her away, Andrianne had to take a moment to clear her head.

"Wha-…"

"Look…if that didn't tell you anything, then I don't know what will. Think about _this _for a little while." Losko said, kissing her again. When he pulled away this time, he put on his hat and tipped it for her.

"With that, I say goodnight." His voice cracked slightly as he turned on his heel and left, leaving her to gawk after him. !!

!! "I understand why Annabelle's not coming, and I know that Cassandra wanted to spend time with her kids, but why did Cosette stay behind?" Chloe wondered.

"Either she's still a little ill from last night, or she's finally getting some alone time with her man." Sarah responded dryly.

"How could she get any more alone with him?" Chloe furrowed her brow. She blushed when the answer came to her. "Oh."

"Oh, not like that." Sarah grinned even as she rolled her eyes. "I swear we've corrupted you." She glanced back behind her, and her grin became more mischievious.

'This is bad."

Jenn looked back at Sarah, furrowing a brow. "What is?"

Sarah snapped her fingers in front of Andrianne and Ray's faces, trying to get their attention, but to no avail. "These girls have been out of it all morning. Matter of fact, they've been out of it ever since they both came back last night."

"Maybe it's the shock finally sinking in." Chloe suggested. "I mean, yesterday was really busy and stressful."

"It's some sort of shock, alright. But not the type you're thinking of." Arielle smiled softly. "I think somebody's in love."

"Two somebody's." Jenn winked at her, laughing at the two spacey girls, who happened to be bringing up the rear.

"You know, I can hear every word you're saying about me." Ray said, her focus still elsewhere. "Just because I'm out of it doesn't mean I'm deaf."

Sarah grinned back at her. "So, are you going to tell us about what happened, or do we have to guess?" She asked, slowing her pace to fit theirs.

"Guess away." Ray muttered. "I don't kiss and tell." She winked at Andrianne as she echoed her friend's past words.

Andrianne still wasn't paying attention enough to understand what had been said; for the past ten minutes, she'd been playing with her bottom lip as if to get the tingling to stop.

"If we're talking about falling in love, that one's got it bad." Jenn muttered. "I don't think she even understands that she's walking outside."

"Maybe we should pinch her." Sarah suggested. "I'm sure Emilie would suggest that, and since she's not around to do it, I'd be glad to assume her duties."

"Nobody's pinching anybody," Arielle grinned. "Let's just get to where we're going. Maybe she'll wake up if somebody shoves a pink dress under her nose."

Andrianne snapped awake. "Who mentioned the devil's garments?!?" She demanded looking around at the girls in her company.

"Why do you call it that? I think dresses are lovely." Chloe said, and as if to emphasize her point, she swished her skirt. "And I think pink would look just darling on you."

Andrianne looked at her as if she had three heads. "You're possessed. 'Pink', 'dress', and 'Andrianne' do not go in the same sentence." She shivered heavily.

"Same goes if you add the name 'Ray'," Ray put in. "Except if used in the phrase 'Andrianne and Ray will not wear a pink dress."

"Very true." Andrianne agreed.

"Well, too bad. We're going dress shopping." Arielle said jovially, ignoring the gasps and groans from the two tomboys. "You'll get over it."

"Bash me over the head with a rock, shoot me, or something! It'll be a quicker and kinder death than this." Ray whined.

Sarah laughed at the two of them. "Well…we _did _invite the men of the household to join us for lunch, including some very important parties that you might be involved with…but if you're not willing to come with us, I guess we can make up an excuse or something." She winked at the other women as protests arose.

"I'm sure we can endure the sight of a few dresses, right Andy?" Ray said suddenly, pulling Andrianne near the shop. "I mean, after all, we _are _female."

"Too true, my friend." Andrianne said agreeably as she walked into the shop after her. "I've got boobs and a hormonal cycle to prove it."

"Nice move." Jenn praised.

Sarah merely shrugged. "One tries." !!

!! "No, put _that _one on top. There we go." Sarah patted the top box in the stack. "Now it won't fall all over the place."

"I don't s-…" Andrianne blew some hair out of her face. "-…see why we should be the ones to carry all this mess." She protested with one of her rare glares. "I didn't even want any of this crap."

Chloe tutted at the two complaining girls. "You may not have wanted it, but most of it is necessary if your dresses are going to work properly."

Ray sighed heavily. "Isn't there some kind of manual you can read or something?" She asked. "It always takes three or more people to help me with my dresses at the theater in the U.K. I figured there was a divine secret."

"Perhaps." Sarah grinned. "Maybe dresses should be considered an art form."

"In which case, I'm a dress genius." Chloe winked. The two laughed as the tomboys steamed.

"_You _can laugh about it." Andrianne muttered. "You're not the ones practically giving up your religion."

Jenn patted her on the back. "Think of it as a momentary lapse in judgement." She grinned. "There's always a little wiggle room in religions."

Ray looked around. "Do we really have to walk all the way back to the lodging house and _then _back to Tibby's?" She complained.

"Let's just hurry to the restaurant." Sarah said. "That alleyway there might be a good shortcut to take. We can put the dresses away later."

"Good plan." Ray nodded her approval as the women headed down the alley.

Not two moments later, Jenn felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Rubbing the nape, she glanced at Sarah. "Hey…ever feel like you're being followed."

"Not for almost ten years, why?" Sarah wondered. Finally catching Jenn's meaning, her eyes widened. "You don't think…" She started in a lower voice.

"Oh, yes I do." Jenn muttered. "Hey, Andy…Ray…I think-…"

"We know." Ray mumbled out of the corner of her mouth. "They've been following us for about a block. Just don't say anything else about it."

"Do we just keep walking?" Chloe asked, scared out of her wits now.

Andrianne sighed. "We're gonna have to face him sooner or later, and this alley doesn't end anytime soon." She murmured to Ray. "We might as well."

Ray nodded, handing off her packages to Chloe. She then turned and plastered a smirk on her face. "Well, well, well. Look who we have here, ladies." She said, looking the men behind them over. "Some old friends."

"Oscar Delancey." Sarah muttered. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"And Morris! I didn't even smell you come up." Andrianne smiled with mock politeness. "You two are looking as greasy as always. Still picking on little children, I hear."

Oscar merely disregarded her as he always did, until he realized that she wasn't nearly as small anymore. None of them were. Boy, was his luck good today. "We decided to check upon you ladies." He said, his voice making most of the women's skin crawl. "You know, women shouldn't walk in an alley without a man around."

"You should remember that we don't need men to protect us, Oscar." Ray snarled. "I gave you a few scars to remind you of that."

Morris glanced at his brother, then back at the ladies. "Who said anything about protecting you?"

"You do realize that you're only two men against six women, right? And a few of whom can kick both of your asses alone." Jenn raised a brow at them.

Oscar and Morris grinned at one another, and then back at the ladies. The women felt rather than heard other approaching bodies.

Looking back at the other men in the alley that now outnumbered them, Ray and Andrianne glanced at each other.

"Well that sucks." They said in unison.

"Now what?" Sarah asked, as the women were forced back to back.

"Well, we have a few options, since we're cornered." Jenn stated.

"Is one of them to scream?" Chloe asked tremulously.

Sarah recoiled away from one of the men, his breath a foul and cruel attack against her nose.

Ray met Morris's gaze unwaveringly. She sneered at him even as he laughed at her. "I don't scream." She said flatly. "I kick ass." She punched Morris in the face with all of the strength she could muster. !!

!! I was kind of wondering how this chapter was going to turn out myself. If you couldn't tell, I kind of BSed my way through that. Review pretty please!!

!! CHAPTER PREVIEW!: How will the women get of their current predicament? Will anyone come to help? Will there be another baby to join the family? Will another relationship bloom, or will one break apart? FIND OUT NEXT TIME!!


	9. Love Won, and Lost

!! So I recently came to the realization that it was April…and this was supposed to be over by New Years…heh…so that means pretty much that this should be over within the next few chapters, but just be warned, there might be a few spin-offs of this fic. Bwahaha. Thanks for reading and reviewing, it means a lot to me!!

!! Even as Morris stumbled backwards with the force of Ray's fist, a war erupted in the alleyway. Although their first instinct was to run, they stayed put, even if it was only because their legs wouldn't move.

Morris tackled Ray with a merciless attack, silently giving the command for the rest of the men to throw away the fact that they were fighting females.

Arielle found herself backed up into the alley wall. She looked back at the guy with wide eyes, trying to remember what she was taught to do in situations like this. Lashing out, she hit him in the stomach and pushed him out of her way as she moved away from him.

Chloe instinctively dropped the packages to shield herself as she ducked from a blow, and threw up her hand, breaking the guy's nose. "Oh!" She covered her mouth.

"Where'd you learn that?" Sarah wanted to know even as she avoided blows.

"I have no idea!" She responded. When the man came after her again, she kneed him in the groin as hard as she could and laughed triumphantly. "_That_ I learned from my fiancée."

Andrianne hadn't been in a fight like this in a long time, and even when she was in fights, she rarely won because of her small stature. But for some reason, whether it was because she'd grown or because she was working off stream, she was a better fighter. Slipping under fists and legs, she gasped as one actually caught her. Held against the guy's chest, she stomped on his instep and elbowed him in the gut, pulling away.

Jenn cursed her luck at having to be stuck with Oscar. "Don't you have something else to do?" She demanded, slipping out of his grip. "I mean honestly. I didn't think that beating up girls was even in YOUR repertoire." Oscar ignored her comments and easily dragged her down to the ground. Jenn cursed again. "Get OFF!" She growled at him.

Oscar laughed at her attempts at knocking him off. "Not even a kiss for old time's sake?"

Jenn finally kneed him in the groin and pushed him off. "You're disgusting." She declared, ramming her fist into his gut.

Ray easily knocked Morris off of her. "You're getting a little slow in your old age, Morris." She commented, evading his clumsy blows. She gasped when he finally managed to hit her in the mouth. Spitting out blood, Ray glared back at him, her eyes fiery. Her eyes widened, however, when Morris' readied fist was grabbed inches from her face and pulled behind his back.

Brendon forced Morris' arm further up his back. "How's it feel, asshole?" He hissed.

Arielle tried to slip out of the man's grip, and nearly screamed when he grabbed her hair. "Ow! LET GO!" She struggled, and fell when she was pushed away. Looking back up, she gasped. "Jack?"

Jack didn't seem to hear her because he was viciously attacking the man that had her hair. The alleyway was suddenly crowded with ex-newsies and lovers fighting off gang members. Girls were pried from the hands of the men, whether they wanted or needed the help or not.

Brendon faced off with Morris, his eyes deadly. Only when Morris start out of the alley did he back down at all.

"We'll be back to finish this." Oscar declared, grabbing his brother.

"We ain't done with you yet, assholes." Morris yelled as he followed his brother and the rest of the gang out.

"Yeah you are." Brendon growled as he jumped at them, making them run.

"You come around any of the girls again; it'll be the last day you live!" Trey shouted.

Losko picked Andrianne up off the ground and examined her face even as she tried to pull away. "You don't look bad off…" He muttered, his eyes concerned. "Are you alright?"

Andrianne got a chance to pull back from him, more embarrassed than anything. "I'm fine," she grumbled, brushing herself off. Glancing up, she noticed his face and looked fully at him. "Hey…did you get hit?"

Losko felt at his lip and gingerly touched his eye. "A little…" He admitted with a small smile. "Nothing too bad."

"You're going to have to let me do something about it later." She said, leaving no room for question. "We've got all manner of medicine for stuff like this at the lodging house."

Losko shook his head. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." He nodded, and then squirmed under her glare. "Fine…" he mumbled. "But I won't like it."

"I don't care." Andrianne shrugged and walked off down the alley, leaving him to walk after her.

Jack unceremoniously grabbed Arielle from her spot on the ground. Arielle protested like hell. "Francis Sullivan if you don't let me go this instant-…"

She cut off when he shook her slightly. "Do you know how badly you worried me?!" He nearly snarled at her, his eyes still ablaze. "Do you know how badly you scared me when I saw you getting attacked by that asshole?!"

Arielle could do nothing but gape at him. "I…I didn't…"

"Look, Arielle, just because we broke off the engagement doesn't mean that I can't love you the same way as I did when we were engaged." He stated bluntly. "You're an idiot if you thought otherwise."

Arielle snapped her gaping mouth shut. "Oh, just shut up and kiss me." She commanded, putting words into action by grabbing his collar and bringing his lips to hers.

"I could've handled that on my own." Ray muttered, more to herself than to Brendon. He merely narrowed his eyes at her.

"You know that I would never just stand back and let you fend for yourself if I can do something about it." He said, his voice low and still dangerous.

Ray rolled her eyes. "You really need to get over that whole knight-in-shining-armor thing." She said, highly annoyed at his thought process. "Let's go. I'm hungry." She started past him.

Brendon knew better than to grab her arm, so he let her go and stood there alone in the alley for a moment, mulling over his thoughts, and then joined the others at Tibby's. !!

!! 'I still don't understand why the hell we-OUCH!"

"Well stop moving!" Sarah blew a stray piece of hair out of her eyes and concentrated on the laces on the corset. "This shouldn't be that hard."

"Maybe there's some sort of trick to it." Andrianne offered, sitting back in her undergarments, waiting for her turn. She was still small enough to sit all the way back in a chair and be able to swing her legs without touching the floor. "Say something like, 'Open sesame.'"

Ray held onto the bunk-post for dear life. "Why do we still have to wear these things? I thought they were outdated." She mumbled. "It should be perfectly acceptable to walk out there in a tuxedo or something."

"It gives the guys a chance to ogle and drool." Emilie said, preparing Andrianne's dress. "It's a woman's secret weapon."

"Well at this point in time, I personally wish that I was born male." Ray declared, and yelped when Sarah tugged at the laces again. "Are you _trying _to kill me?"

"I was testing your reaction. I thought you weren't breathing there for a moment." Sarah replied dryly, tying the laces off and slipping Ray's dress over her head.

"I _wasn't _breathing there for a moment." Ray complained. Going over to the makeshift vanity that the men had set up for them, Ray examined herself in the mirror. "Well…" she muttered. "At least I look sexy in this get-up."

Andrianne smirked. "At least you know someone who's going to _get up _at your get-up." She wagged her eyebrows to emphasize her point.

"Andrianne!" Cassandra hissed with a blush as the other girls laughed. Andrianne merely looked at Cassandra innocently and continued to swing her legs as a little girl might.

Emilie prodded Andrianne. "Your turn, missy." Andrianne pouted slightly as Ray took her seat and Andrianne slid the petticoat on.

"Will this hurt?" She wondered, looking over her shoulder as Emilie began to tighten laces.

"Maybe. Scared?" Ray teased. Andrianne stuck her tongue out at her old friend and braced herself on the bed-post. At the first tug, she nearly flew off.

"Holy crap!" She muttered, now clinging to the post.

"Oops. I forgot to say 'Hold on.'" Emilie said innocently. With a sigh, she let Andrianne go loose as her babies started crying in unison. "Who wants to help?" She asked.

"Let's do it Big Momma." Jenn stated following Emilie.

"What?!"

"Sorry." Jenn said with a grin. "I've always wanted to say that."

"Well, don't anymore. It makes me feel fat."

"So what do you think the menfolk'll say about our spiffy dresses?" Ray asked, leaning back slightly.

Cassandra smiled mischievously as she took the task of tightening the laces. "I doubt they'll worry about the dress so much as what's _under _it."

Andrianne glared over her shoulder. "And you yell at me." !!

!! "What's taking them so long to put on a few dresses?" Michael asked, pacing back and forth.

"Calm yourself, man." Trey said easily. "You're going to make yourself old if you keep doing that."

'He's already old." Mike grinned.

"True."

"Yet, sadly, I can hear every word you say about me." Michael said almost bitterly. He looked up the stairs and then plopped down next to Gabe. "God, they're taking forever."

"Who, us?"

The men looked up and quickly stood once they saw descending females. A few whistles echoed as a few of the ladies spun to show off their dresses.

"If you think this is good, just wait 'till you see what miracles we performed upstairs." Emilie said with a grin, looking beautiful in light blue.

"I heard that!" Ray shouted from upstairs.

"That was uncalled for!" Andrianne agreed.

"I'm scared now." Jack joked, receiving an elbow in the ribs from Arielle, who wore dark green. "What'd you do to them?"

"Are they anything like Frankenstein?" Gabe wanted to know. "If so, I've seen this flick, so let's go."

Sarah stopped him mid-step, her red dress swishing around her legs. "Hold on there, dog-boy." She said. "Ladies! Get your cute butts down here!"

Silence.

The men blinked. "Well?" Mike asked.

"Hang on…" Sarah went on the first step. "If you don't get down here, we'll hide all of your other clothes so you have to parade around like that all day."

Feet resounded like thunder on the stairs as the two tomboys combated to get down the stairs first.

You could hear everyone's jaws hit the floor.

Ray and Andrianne looked at each other and cleared their throats, obviously nervous.

"What's everyone so quiet for?" Andrianne asked, a little louder than necessary. Her dark hair was up, showing off her grey eyes, her royal blue dress giving her the illusion of gliding down the stairs.

Ray brushed her hair away from her face and toyed with a dark blue ringlet. Her dress was a radiant white, giving her a huge contrast between midnight blue and white. "I just hope I don't fall on my ass." She said aloud, breaking the tense moment.

"Well…I guess they're not going to completely embarrass us all." Mike said, winking at the two girls and leaving with Annabelle.

Brendon met Ray at the foot of the stairs and stared up at her, his eyes contemplative. "What?" Ray asked, uncomfortable with his gaze.

"I was trying to think if I'd seem anything more beautiful than you." He said softly. "Nothing comes to mind."

Ray flushed visibly, and she cursed herself inwardly for it. "That was such a corny line." She stated, taking his arm.

Brendon smiled softly. "Yeah, but it's true. And it worked."

"Oh, Andrianne!" Marty came over to her with a smile. "Losko came here earlier. He said he'd be late and he'd meet us there."

Andrianne's disappointment never registered on her face. "Oh. Well, that's fine."

"You know…" He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hannah's not going to come until later, too. You know, since she has to take the babies to David's sister…" He smiled at her. "I would love to escort you." He bowed as much as he could with his crutch.

Andrianne's heart swelled with sisterly love for the man in front of her. "Why I'd be delighted to have an escort like you." She said, taking on a southern accent and taking his arm. !!

!! New Year's Eve tended to not be a big deal with newsies. But this year, with all the friends and families together, it was going to be an all-out party.

"I hope that's not how you really dance." Jack remarked to Trey.

"You're just jealous that you don't have the moves." He grinned.

Jenn laughed at her husband. "I am _not _dancing with you when you act like that." She waved her hands to ward him off.

"You just won't be happy until I spin on a ceiling fan again, will you?" Dom shook his head.

Jake couldn't help but tap his foot. Getting up, he exaggeratedly bowed at Cindie's feet. "Madam, may I have the honor of dancing with you?"

Cindie giggled and held out her hand. "Of course, good sir." She laughed as he led her out to the floor as an Irish jig echoed throughout the Hall.

"Now _that's _what I call music!" Mike exclaimed, pulling Annabelle with him and proceeded to show off.

Gabe merely rolled his eyes. "You've got pansy-feet, Reilly." He remarked. "This is how a man does it." He stepped onto the floor and began to show him up. Once he'd felt satisfied that he'd won the little sport, he stepped back and crossed his arms smugly. "Beat that."

Mike gave Gabe a look and smirked. "You asked for it." Removing his jacket and rolling up his sleeves, Mike stuck his hands in his pockets and showed off again, smiling smugly the entire time.

Gabe finally couldn't take it anymore and interrupted and started a dance-off. By the end of the song and the beginning of the next; competition was fierce, and hilarious.

"Had enough?" Mike asked, as if he wasn't even winded.

"A true Irishman never backs down." Gabe retorted.

"If you were a true Irishman, I'd believe you!" Mike laughed. Suddenly his foot went out from under him and he fell back, taking Gabe with him. The men could do nothing but look at each other and laugh.

Cosette merely shook her head. "It's a wonder you two didn't break your necks." She clamped a hand over her mouth suddenly. "Oh no…I sound like an old lady!" She whined.

"It's what happens when you get married." Cassandra said laughing.

"Are you seriously dancing like that?" Sarah asked, poking her fiancé.

Michael looked offended. "I was just warming up."

"Good thing I'm not marrying you for your dancing abilities."

"Hey, I'll have you know that I was one of the best dancers when we were newsies." He defended, crossing his arms.

Sarah patted his shoulder. "Of course you were." She smiled. "Oh, and later when big men come and wrap you in a white coat, it doesn't mean they like you." She scampered away when he made a grab for her.

Marty looked over to the door and smiled, poking his date in the ribs. "Andy…I think your man is here." He smiled at her and went off to mingle with the others.

Andrianne furrowed her brow and looked to the door, and her heart nearly stopped beating. There he stood, looking around at the scene before him with mild amusement and confusion. He was looking for something.

_Could he be looking for me? _She thought, chewing on her lip. When Losko's eyes finally met hers, she got her answer when he smiled and walked over to her.

Losko smiled wider once he got a good look at her. "Wow." He muttered. He bowed gallantly. "Madam."

Andrianne couldn't help but blush. "Sir." She refused to curtsy. Just because she was in a dress didn't mean she had to play by ALL the rules.

"Would you…" Losko seemed at a lost for words. His eyes held excitement. What was this guy planning?

"Andrianne…can I speak to you in private? Just for a second, I promise." Losko said earnestly.

Despite her better judgment, she nodded and took his hand as he led her outside.

"Alright," She said, bracing against the cold. "What's the matter?"

"Are you shivering?" Losko asked, shaking his head. "Of course you are, how stupid of me. Here," he took off his coat and placed it around her shoulders.

Andrianne, humbled by his gesture, smiled sheepishly. "Thanks. So what's the matter?" she asked again. She noted that she was giving him more patience than she would with anyone else she knew. Maybe that's what happened when you were in love.

She froze, her eyes wide. _In love? _How had she thought about it so casually? With a mental shrug, she decided not to kid herself anymore. She knew it, and most likely, he did as well. So why not just give up the act altogether?

By this time, of course, everyone who was nosy, which meant nearly the whole party, was at the front door, eavesdropping in the conversation.

"Stop pushing!" Sarah hissed.

"I can't hear, what's going on?" Gabe asked.

"We shouldn't be doing this…it's not right." Cassandra said, without moving from her spot near the doorway.

Losko seemed uncharacteristically nervous tonight. His hands never seemed to cooperate, and Andrianne noted that his voice wavered some. "I…" he started, and then thought better of it. "Do you remember when I told you that I painted in my spare time?"

Andrianne smiled again. "Yeah, I walk past your work everyday. Why?"

Losko returned the smile, and then paced a little. "Well…a few days ago, I had someone approach me with a few questions about my pieces. It turns out that he's Albert Ginney, a fairly famous European art collector." He said with a bit of awe. He finally stopped and faced her.

"He wants to purchase some of my work and put it in his gallery." He said, his excitement clearly visible.

"Oh, Losko, that's amazing!" She said with genuine joy for him, throwing her arms around him. He held her for a moment, and then released her, holding her shoulders to be able to look into her eyes.

"He wants me to move to Europe." He said. "London, I think."

Andrianne's eyes must have registered disappointment, because he placed a hand on her cheek. Taking one of her hands, he swallowed, and said, "And I want you to come with me."

The women of the party barely suppressed excited squeals.

"That's amazing!" Jenn whispered. "He'll be famous!"

"Yeah, now we won't have to worry about firecrackers." Trey grunted as someone elbowed him in the gut. "What? I was only half-serious…"

An alarm bell went off in Andrianne's head. She had an intense case of déjà vu. _I want you to come with me…_Ben had said that to her. And look what happened there. He had nearly destroyed her life.

But this wasn't Ben. It was Losko. Sweet, caring, _wonderful _Losko. Even though she knew all that, she also knew that her head often won over her heart. She couldn't let herself be hurt again, and that meant that she couldn't let herself fall that deeply anymore.

"Losko…" She started, looking down.

Losko measured her response. "Yes?" He asked, watching her reaction closely. When her eyes met his again, there were tears in them.

Andrianne shook her head. "I can't."

Losko's heart fell. "What?"

She shook her head again. "I can't go with you. You're asking a lot of me, and for something I can't give." She pulled her hands away, ashamed.

Ray's eyes widened. _What the hell is she doing? Go with him, you dolt! _She wanted to shout. Secretly she knew the inner war that Andrianne must be going through, but why on Earth couldn't the girl see what a good thing she had?

Losko didn't know what to do. Here he was, nearly pouring his heart out, yet she didn't care, or just didn't seem to. Then again, if she didn't love him, then why was she crying?

"Why?" He asked, holding her so she would have to look at him.

Andrianne wanted to pull away. Who was _he _to force her to do or say anything? "Because I can't! You couldn't possibly understand, Losko. I'm really happy for you, but I can't go with you. I have a life here…" She made up any excuse she could think of.

Losko knew better. "You're scared." He said, crossing his arms. "Why?"

"Why do you keep asking me that?" Andrianne said, frustrated that he could see through her like that. "I just can't!" She refused to delve into it. Why couldn't he make it easier and just go without her _now_?

Losko stared into her eyes and knew he couldn't break the wall she had just set around her heart. He had to swallow the lump in his throat and glanced around before looking back at her.

"So this is over? I won't see you again?" He asked quietly.

Andrianne cursed herself as a tear slid down her cheek. Slowly she handed him back his coat. "I'm so sorry." She said, barely audible.

Losko took the coat, and stared at it for a moment before sliding it on. "So am I." He leaned forward and brushed a kiss on her cheek. "Goodbye, Andy." He said, ignoring the voice that told him to stay and walked down the street.

The group at the door disassembled and went about their business nonchalantly as Andrianne walked back in. Forcefully wiping the tears away, she walked over to a small group of her closest friends like nothing ever happened. But when Cassandra and Emilie gave her small smiles, and Ray put a hand on her shoulder, Andrianne's resolve broke and she cried. !!

!! "Still set for the spring, huh?"

Jack looked at Arielle and nodded, a slightly smug smile on his face. "Yeah. I had a momentary lapse in judgment, but everything's back to the way it should be."

Trey shook his head. "Did you finally decide on where to live?" He asked, and knew immediately that he shouldn't have. That whole conversation was the reason they had broken up in the first place.

Jack glanced at Arielle again, and then cleared his throat. "Well…" He sighed a little. "Canada can't possibly be all that bad, I suppose…"

Arielle couldn't believe what she was hearing. She looked at him with wide eyes. "Do you mean…?"

Jack shrugged and smiled. "Why not? I'm pretty sure I can find something to do up there…" Arielle threw her arms around him with a cry of delight.

"Thank you!" She gave him a smacking kiss and got up to tell the others.

Jack laughed after her. "You'd think I had just given her a birthday present." He muttered.

Gabe raised a brow. "What about all the stuff about going to Santa Fe and not letting any woman change your mind?" He reminded him. Jack shrugged him off.

"That's no woman." He said with a smirk. "That's my fiancé."

Two days after New Year's Eve, the gang still hung together like it was old times. Knowing they had to go back to their ordinary lives soon, they spent as much time as possible together.

"This is nuts." Jenn stated, leaning back on her husband as she regarded the others. "It's just like we've never grown up or something. We fit back here so perfectly." She said and shook her head.

Dom agreed and kissed her head. "Things are almost back to normal. If anything's missing, I don't know what it could be…"

Suddenly, a cracking sound echoed from the roof.

"We're under-fire!" Cindie shouted. She dove underneath a table and hid there, dragging Jake and her baby along with her.

Jake peered around the top of the table. "In a lodging house?" he asked.

Cindie came out sheepishly. "Well you never know." She argued. "It _is _New York, after all."

"What was that?" Cassandra came out of one of the rooms. "We heard loud popping noises."

"Well, I don't know what it actually was, but it sounded like…" Suddenly Trey broke off and sniffed the air.

"Smells like…" Dom's eyes widened.

"Oh no." The former newsies said in unison. Racing to the roof, they realized their assumptions were correct.

"Firecrackers!" Gabe announced. Andrianne sat on the roof with some of the older children, the strands of thin, red tubs surrounding them.

"Hi mom!" Eden said getting to her feet. "Andy was showing us how to scare policemen!"

Andrianne sat back. "Tattletale."

Dom snapped his fingers. "I knew something about this place was missing."

"What would that be, exactly?" Jenn asked.

"Heart attacks." Alex murmured with a scowl. "Don't you have something better to do?" He asked.

Andrianne merely smirked at him, showing a little of her old self. "If I did I wouldn't be on the roof with firecrackers, now would I?"

Ray and Brendon joined everyone on the roof. Ray pouted at the scene. "Aw…how come you didn't tell me you were gonna have fun?"

The rest of the house walked back inside, shaking their heads. Ray sat down next to Andrianne and tossed aside the pack of used matches.

"So I take it you're feeling better?" She said, noticing all the used matches.

Andrianne shrugged. "One day at a time, I guess." Ray nodded solemnly.

"When did he leave?"

"Ten this morning." She said, a bitter note in her voice.

Ray looked at her and pursed her lips. "You know…I've always found that the best way to get what you want is to go after it." She caught Brendon's eye for a moment and returned his knowing smile. Patting her friend's shoulder, she got to her feet and started back inside. "Just a little food for thought."

Andrianne could do nothing but stare after her. _What the hell was that supposed to mean!!_

!! Like? I think it's good...yeah...please review! I'm sorry to say this story will be ending soon, but I'm really grateful for all the feeback I've gotten from readers like you! (a little PBS humor...nevermind)!!


	10. Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

!! Alas, my dear children, we've come to the story's end. sobs It's time we leave our characters to their happy lives. I'm really sad about having it end, but it was time, and I'm really grateful for all who read and reviewed for me. You helped a lot. I'm sorry it's so short! But who knows? There might be a sequel. winks!!

!! "Do we have everything?"

"Suitcases…check. Shoes…check. Coats…check." Jake looked around. "Well if we're missing anything I don't know what it is…"

Cindie looked at him. "Did you get Logan?"

"Logan?"

She gave him a look. "Our son…"

"We have a son?"

"JAKE!"

"Just kidding, he's upstairs asleep. I'll go get him." He kissed his wife's forehead and walked upstairs.

Cindie shook her head at him and took a seat. "And so begins the rest of my life." She smiled and swung her legs a little. "I have a baby boy…I have a baby boy…" she said in a sing-song tone.

"You've been saying that for a while now." Cassandra smiled at her, shaking her head. "It's kind of sad that you're the first to leave."

"No I'm not." Cindie said with a frown. "Sarah and Michael had decided to head out this morning, remember?"

"Oh, that's right." Cassandra flushed a little. "I forgot."

Mike and Annabelle came down the stairs, hand-in-hand. "Well, we'd better be heading out, too." He announced.

"What? You're leaving so soon, too?" Emilie pouted. "After New Year's, everyone's in such a rush to leave. Once the booze is gone, there's no incentive to stay." She joked.

Ray and Brendon looked at each other. "We're going, as well. We have to take the same ship."

Arielle furrowed her brow. "I thought you had decided to stay for a while longer…?"

Ray shrugged. "I have a contract I have to see through. Those things are unbreakable, you know." She grinned. "After that…who knows? I may come back and bother the rest of you for good."

"You'd better." Trey remarked. "You've got quite a few weddings to go to." He smiled at Chloe and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Ours in autumn two years from now, Jack and Arielle's in the spring, Michael and Sarah next winter, and Gabe's and Cosette's the spring after."

Ray rolled her eyes. "Picky, picky. I came back this time, yet it's still not enough for all of you." She teased. "You can't seem to get enough of me."

"Oh, no." Jack mocked. "One of you has to leave." He said, referring to Ray and Gabe. "We can't have two huge egos in the room." He winced and grinned when Ray and Gabe both punched him in the shoulders.

"Who knows, Ray," Emilie stated, her romantic side showing through. "Maybe you'll have to come back for your own wedding sometime."

Brendon and Ray flushed and glanced at each other, and quickly looked away, clearly their throats. "I don't think we'll be going into _that _anytime soon…"

Brendon glanced at her. "Why not?"

Ray looked back at him, her mouth agape. "Uh…well…because…I mean…" Clearing her throat again she averted her gaze. "How about that weather, huh?" she said, and Brendon grinned.

Cosette nearly ran down the stairs. "Oh, good." She gasped. "I didn't miss either of you." She walked over to Cindie and Emilie and handed them both small canvases. "I'm sorry I was a little late, but I wanted to give these to you. You know, as a baby gift."

Cindie and Emilie glanced down at the portraits and gasped, tearing up. "Oh, they're beautiful!" Emilie said, breathless.

Each portrait was of their babies, either asleep or staring directly outward. Cosette had placed Logan in a blanket with only arms surrounding him as he slept, and she had put Gaebriell and Elijah next to each other as they touched each other's faces.

"Thank you, Cosette." Emilie said, wrapping her in a one-armed hug.

"I'll be so smug when you're famous and I'll have one of your first paintings." Cindie exclaimed. Cosette merely blushed and scampered away to hide away again.

"What exactly are you going to do now, Marty?" Ray asked, leaning against the desk, regaining some old habits from her newsie days.

Marty traced the top of the desk, envisioning Kloppman standing behind the desk, filling out ledgers. He smiled softly and looked up at Ray.

"You know, he used to tell me how everything worked." He said softly, flipping through a book. "Every once in a while when I'd stick around the lodging house, he'd flip through his precious ledgers and say 'Crutchy, I'm bored. Get back here,'. I'd say, 'Yes sir, Mr. Kloppman.'. He'd take me behind here and explain everything. 'The fine art of running a lodging house,' he'd call it." Marty smiled again.

Ray smiled at her own memories of the scene that Marty had described. "I remember." She said. "And if anyone else butted in, he'd shoo them and you off and go about his business.

"He liked everyone, Marty. He loved us all like his own kids. But he had a special place for _you._" She continued, grinning at him. Marty seemed to take a moment to consume this new information. He then smiled broader.

"I'm going to take over for him." He said proudly. "I'm going to run the lodging house." !!

!! Andrianne braved the snow outside to walk with Max. The dog was feeling a bit deprived of attention since all the drama stopped, so to make amends for not spending a lot of time with him, she strolled with him and played.

Tossing a snowball at him (which he tried to catch with his mouth, and failed), Andrianne took a deep breath and fell back onto a pile of snow. _He was right…_She thought. _The nature is never the same. _

She wondered what he was up to now. Had he made it to London? Was he painting on the ship? Would he be happy? And more importantly-…

Was he as miserable as she was?

Thinking she was playing a game, Max pummeled her in the snow.

"MAX!" Andrianne grunted. "Get off you big brute!" She tossed a snowball far enough away to keep the dog running for a while. Watching him run, Andrianne thought back on what her friend had to say.

And looking towards the direction of the harbor, Andrianne knew what she had to do. "If I want it, huh?" She muttered. !!

!! "Why's everyone leaving _today?_" Jack asked. "I really doubt that the world would explode if we were separated."

Dom finished putting the rest of their things in a suitcase. "Jenn and I both have to go back to work. I _really _don't want to, but we have to.

"Speaking of my wife…" He muttered looking around. "Where did she go?"

"She was in the bathroom last time I saw her." Emilie stated, playing with her daughter as David rocked his son to sleep.

"She's been sick all morning." Dom said, furrowing his brow. "I wonder what's wrong with her…"

And as if he had called for her, Jenn came down the stairs, looking pale. Dom came over to her.

"What's the matter? Are you alright?" He asked. Jenn shook her head slowly. Emilie and Cindie exchanged knowing looks, but kept their mouths shut.

Jenn finally looked at Dom. "I think I'm pregnant." Her eyes were wide with shock.

They could have burned the building down, and Dom wouldn't have been able to move any more than he could now. "…what?"

"I think I'm pregnant." She repeated, her mouth slowly cracking into a disbelieving smile.

With a whoop, Dom lifted her off the ground and spun her in two quick circles. Jack had managed to duck the spinning female and ran to the opposite side of the room where there wasn't a chance of getting knocked out.

"Congratulations!" Mike said, elbowing Dom with a grin.

Dom grinned back. "When are you guys leaving?" He asked, suddenly serious.

"Just as soon as Ray and Brendon are ready…" Mike looked upstairs. "HURRY UP!" He shouted.

Ray came down the stairs, ready to beat him. "First _you _take forever, and when I forget something, you yell at me." She nearly growled.

"Whoa, don't go yet!"

Ray looked back upstairs and furrowed her brow. "When did you get back?" she asked. "Did you sneak in?"

Andrianne came down the stairs with her sack over her shoulder and grinned. "You underestimate the sneakiness." She teased.

"Are you heading back to Maine?" Brendon asked. Looking around, he also took on a confused look. "Where's your horse?"

"I gave Max to Aidan to look after him for a while." Andrianne grinned broadly. "I'm going to London." !!

!! –sobbing- I just ADORE happy endings, don't you? Anyway, thanks to everyone who read and reviewed again, it REALLY meant a lot to me. If you want to know anything more about this story (aka the deleted scenes? Lmao) check out its sister story, History of My Heart, later on. It should have more things about it. For now, goodbye lovelies!!


	11. Epilogue

!! …I lied. LMAO I've got a couple of replies and such about how it ended so soon, etc. SO! To try and quench the thirst of the few, I've written the Epilogue. Have fun!!

Marty looked down at the grave marker. He'd long since gotten rid of his crutch and had started using a cane, which he leaned on in the uneven ground. He had so much to say to this man, yet he didn't know where to begin. Clearing his throat and removing his hat, he decided to say what was in his heart.

"Hey there, Mr. Kloppman." Marty said, his smile slow and sad. "How've you been? I've been okay, I guess. Actually, I've been really good.

"I took over for you after…you know." He continued, gaining confidence. "It's been three years since I began looking after the lodging house. We've got lots of new lodgers, and you'd be surprised at how much they act like we used to. I'd swear that there's a clone of everyone." He chuckled softly.

"You'd be proud of everyone." Marty said, the wind blowing his hair. "Jenn and Dom- uh…Styx and Bumlets- have two great kids now. They've got a really good business going, and seem to be really happy.

"Jack and Arielle got married _finally._ I think they live somewhere in Ontario, Canada. _Jack "Cowboy" Kelly _lives in Canada." Marty laughed a little at that. "They just traveled to Santa Fe not too long ago, though."

"David and Emilie were able to open up a new business last year. It's a seamstress shop that Emilie mainly runs. David was kind of embarrassed to go in the women-based shop, so he mainly handles the financial stuff. Cindie and Jake are their partners.

"Cassandra and Alex still have WAY too many kids." Marty joked. "They had twins not too long ago, and they're both healthy and beautiful. Alex is still a great musician, and Cassandra is still the best cook I've ever met." He shrugged. "Don't tell Hannah that…

"Everyone's gotten married as far as I know. Gabe and Cosette finally tied the knot, and Gabe's still as temperamental as always, but Cosette quietly puts him in his place, whether he knows it or not.

"Michael and Sarah, after arguing about it for weeks, ended up eloping. We only found out about them last week. Sarah's pregnant and due in a few months.

"Speaking of due, Chloe and Trey had triplets last month. _Triplets!_ I felt so sorry for her." Marty grinned. "They looked so much like them. Oh! I almost forgot."

Marty reached inside his pockets and pulled out letters. "I got letters from Ray and Brendon and Andrianne. They're getting on a huge ship called the Titanic. I just hope that they'll settle down once they get back."

Shoving the letters back in his pockets, he leaned back on his cane again. Marty grew silent for a moment, before he continued.

"I do miss you, Mr. Kloppman." He said softly. "You were like a father to all of us. For most of us, you were the father that we never had, and we can't tell you how grateful we are." He swallowed. "I'm just sorry that we didn't have a chance to tell you so sooner."

"Marty?"

Turning around, he smiled at Hannah, who held their toddler on her hip. "I'll be there in a second." He assured her. Focusing again on the grave marker, he nodded.

"We owe you so much." Marty shrugged his shoulders again. "I finally made something of my life, thanks to you." Patting the marker as he would someone's shoulder, Marty turned around and, with the assistance of his cane, walked towards his wife.

The lodging house was busy that day. Maybe it was because of the rain, or maybe it was just because the lodgers there loved the place. Friends and familiar faces comforted those who'd known no love.

Reminding himself of that, Marty had an endless patience with them all. Settling behind the desk, he picked up the ledger to check the names.

"Let's see…Cards, yup…Pacey, yup…Bets…" Marty looked around. "Where's Bets?"

And as if he had summoned the boy, Bets walked in, shaking his medium brown hair dry. "God, it's rainin' 'ard." The boy remarked in a heavy accent.

"Bets, where you been?" Marty asked.

"I finished up sellin'." Bets replied, as if the answer alone would be enough.

"You were supposed to be here an hour ago." Marty said, using his authoritative tone.

Bets looked at him like he was crazy. "And stay cooped up in 'ere? You're mad!" With that, he ran upstairs to be greeted by others.

Marty smiled. Just like old times.


End file.
